THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


DOMESTIC    ANIMALS. 


HAND-BOOKS  BY   THE    SAME  AUTHOR. 


HOW    TO    WRITE; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Composition  and  Letter  Writing,  with  Hints  on 
Penmanship  and  Writing  Materials,  and  Practical  Eules  for  Literary  Com- 
position, Newspaper  Writing,  Punctuation,  and  Proof  Correcting,  etc.,  etc. 
Price,  paper,  30  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 


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A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Conversation  and  Debate,  with  Directions  for  Ac- 
quiring a  Grammatical  and  Graceful  Style ;  with  more  than  Five  Hundred 
Common  Mistakes  Corrected.  Price,  paper,  80  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 


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A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Kepublican  Etiquette,  and  Guide  to  Correct  Per- 
sonal Habits ;  with  Eules  for  Debating  Societies  and  Deliberative  Assemblies. 
Price,  paper,  80  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 

HOW    TO    DO    BUSINESS; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Practical  Affairs  and  Guide  to  Success  in  Life  ; 
with  a  Collection  of  Business  Forms,  and  a  Dictionary  of  Commercial  Terms. 
Price,  paper,  80  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 

THE    GARDEN; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Practical  Horticulture ;  or,  How  to  Cultivate  Veg- 
etables, Fruits,  and  Flowers.  With  a  Chapter  on  Ornamental  Trees  and 
Shrubs.  Price,  paper,  30  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 

THE     FARM; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Practical  Agriculture ;  or,  How  to  Cultivate  all  the 
Field  Crops.    With  an  Essay  on  Farm  Management,  etc. 
Paper,  30  c. ;  muslin,  50  cents. 

DOMESTIC    ANIMALS; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Cattle,  Horse,  and  Sheep  Husbandry,  etc.,  etc. 
Price,  paper,  80  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 


In  Preparation 

THE     HOUSE; 

A  NEW  POCKET  MANUAL  of  Rural  Architecture.    Paper,  80  c. ;  cloth,  50  cents. 


Sent  to  any  Post- Office,  by  Return  Mail,  on  Receipt  of  the  Price. 


RURAL  HAND-BOOKS.— JYo.  3. 

DOMESlTiTTmALS: 

A  POCKET  MANUAL 

OF 

Cattle,  Horn,  anb  Styttp  ffushnkg; 

OR,    HOW  TO  BREED   AND   REAR 

THE  VAEIOUS  TENANTS  OF  THE  BAM-YARD : 

EMBRACING 

BISECTIONS    FOB    THE    BREEDING,    BEABING,    AND     GENEBAL    MANAGEMENT    OF 
HOB8E8,    MTTLES,    CATTLE,    BHEEP,    SWINE,   AND   POTJLTEY  ;    THE    GENERAL 
LAWS,    PAEENTAGE,    AND    HEBEDITAEY    DESCENT,   APPLIED    TO   ANI- 
MALS, AND  HOW  BREEDS  MAY  BE  IMPEOVED  ;  HOW  TO  IN8UBB 
THE   HEALTH   OF  ANIMALS;    AND   HOW   TO   TBEAT   THEM 
FOB  DISEASES  WITHOUT  THE  USE  OF  DBUGS  ; 


BY  THE  ATTTHOB  OF 

"HOW  TO  DO  BUSINESS,"  "THE  GARDEN,"  ETC. 


Our  power  over  the  lower  animals,  if  rightly  exercissd,  redounds  to  their  elevation  and  hap- 
piness no  less  than  to  our  convenience  and  profit.— THE  AUTHOR. 


Yorfc: 
FOWLER  AND  "VS^ELLs,  PUBLISHERS, 

No.    308     BEOADWAT. 

1858. 


ENTERED     ACCORDING   TO   ACT   OF   CONGRESS,  IN  THE   TEAR    1858.    BY 

FOWLEK     AND     WELLS, 

is  THB  CLERK'S  OFFICE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES   FOR  THE   SOUTHERN  DISTRICT   OF   NEW  Y~RK. 


DAVIES  AND  BouERrg,  Stereotypers, 
113  Nasuau  Street,  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


WE  commenced  this  little  manual  with  the  intention  of  making 
the  most  useful  compilation  possible,  within  the  space  allowed  us, 
from  the  great  number  of  larger  works  on  the  subjects  treated  to 
which  we  had  access.  In  the  progress  of  our  work,  however,  we 
found  occasion  to  depart,  in  some  degree,  from  our  original  plan, 
and  introduce  more  new  matter  and  re -write  and  condense  more 
that  is,  in  substance,  derived  from  others,  than  we  at  first  in- 
tended ;  but  our  claims  on  the  score  of  originality  will  not  be 
large.  If  the  matter  and  arrangement  of  our  book  shall  prove 
acceptable  to  the  public,  and  serve  the  purposes  intended,  we 
shall  be  satisfied.  The  humble  merit  of  having  presented,  in  an 
attractive  and  available  form  a  mass  of  useful  information,  prac- 
tical hints,  and  valuable  suggestions,  on  a  number  of  important 
topics,  is  all  that  we  purpose  to  insist  upon.  This  the  great  pub- 
lic, for  whose  good  we  have  labored,  will,  we  are  sure,  readily 
accord  to  us. 

We  have  given  credit  in  the  body  of  the  work,  whenever  prac- 
ticable, to  the  authors  from  whom  we  have  derived  aid  in  the 
various  departments  of  our  labor  ;  but  we  here  gladly  make  an 
additional  record  of  our  indebtedness  to  the  works  of  Youatt, 
Martin,  Stuart,  Randall,  Wingfield,  Dixon,  Beinent,  Browne, 
Quimby,  etc.  The  Country  Gentleman,  the  American  Agriculturist, 
the  Southern  Cultivator,  and  other  agricultural  papers,  have  been 
examined  with  satisfaction  to  ourselves  and  with  profit  to  our 
readers. 


M370241 


vi  PREFACE. 

We  have  endeavored  to  make  our  little  work  thorough  and  re- 
liable, so  far  as  it  goes,  and  to  give  the  largest  possible  amount 
of  useful  information  that  can  be  condensed  into  so  small  a  num- 
ber of  pages.  We  have  occupied  a  large  field,  we  are  aware,  and 
can  not  hope  to  have  been  so  full  on  all  points  as  many  readers 
will  desire.  We  have  not  aimed,  of  course,  to  render  the  larger 
works  on  the  special  topics  to  which  our  chapters  are  devoted  un- 
necessary. We  hope  rather  to  create  a  demand  for  them  ;  but 
there  are  thousands  whom  this  little  manual  will  furnish  with  all 
the  information  they  desire  on  the  subjects  on  which  it  treats, 
and  on  whom  the  details  with  which  the  larger  and  more  expen- 
sive works  are  filled  would  be  thrown  away.  To  such,  in  an  es- 
pecial manner,  we  commend  it,  hoping  that  it  will  not  wholly  fail 
to  meet  their  expectations. 


CONTENTS. 


I.— THE   HORSE. 

A  Historical  Sketch— Eange  of  the  Horse  in  Eeference  to  Climate— Effects  of 
Climate  and  Food— Varieties  or  Breeds— The  Race-Horse- Origin  and 
Characteristics — Half-bred  Horses— The  Arabian  Horse — Wonderful  Gene- 
alogies—Description—The Arabian  "Tartar"— The  Morgan— Opinions  in 
Eeference  to  the  Morgans — Sherman  Morgan — The  Canadian  Horse — The 
Norman— "  Louis  Philippe"- The  Cleveland  Bay— The  Conestoga— The 
Clydesdale  Horse— The  Virginian— Wild  Horses— American  Trotting  Horses 
—Points  of  a  Horse  Illustrated— Color,  and  what  it  Indicates— Common 
Terms  Denoting  the  Parts  of  a  Horse— Stables — Stables  as  they  are— Situation 
of  Stables — Size — Windows— Floors — Draining— Eacks  and  Mangers — Ven- 
tilation of  Stables— Warmth,  etc.— The  best  Food  for  Horses— Work  and  Di- 
gestion— Bulk  of  Food — Quantity — Water— General  Management  of  the 
Horse— Air— Litter— Grooming— Exercise— Vices  and  Habits— Eestiveness 
— Backing  and  Balking — Biting — Kicking— Eunning  Away — Bearing — Over- 
reaching—Boiling— Shying— Slipping  the  Halter— Tripping— Hints  to  Buy- 
ers—Warranty—Form of  a  Eeceipt  Embodying  a  Warranty— What  a  War- 
ranty Includes — What  constitutes  Unsoundness Page  9 

II.— THE   ASS   AND  THE   MULE. 

Why  the  Ass  has  been  Neglected  and  Abused — Eastern  Appreciation— The 
Ass  compared  with  the  Horse— The  Ass  in  Guinea  and  Persia — The  Mule- 
Adaptation  as  a  Beast  of  Burden — Trade  in  Kentucky— Use  on  a  Farm — 
How  to  have  large  and  handsome  Mules 45 

III.— CATTLE. 

Historical  Sketch— Breeds— The  Devons-New  England  Cattle— The  Hereford 
Breed— The  Sussex  Breed— The  Ayrshire  Cattle— The  Welsh  Breeds— Irish 
Cattle— The  Long  Horns- The  Durham  or  Short-Horned  Breed— Alderuey 
or  Jersey  Cattle— The  Galloway  Breed  or  Hornless  Cattle -Other  Polled 
Cattle— The  Cream-Pot  Breed— Points  of  Cattle— General  Management  of 
Cattle— The  Cow-House  Feeding— Bearing  Calves— Milking— How  to  Esti- 
mate the  Weight  of  Livestock 49 

IV. -SHEEP. 

Characteristics  of  the  Sheep— Mutton— Breeds  in  the  United  States— The  Na- 
tive Breed- The  Spanish  Merino— American  Merinos— Saxon  Merinos— The 
New  Leicester  Breed — The  South-Downs—Mr.  Taylor's  Facts  and  Figures 
—The  Cotswold  Breed— New  Oxfordshire  Sheep— The  Cheviot  Breed— The 


viii  CONTENTS. 

Lincoln  Breed -On  the  Choice  of  a  Breed — The  Improved  English  Varieties 
as  Mutton  Sheep — The  Merinos  as  Wool-Producers—General  Management 
—Barns  and  Sheds-Feeding  Backs  — Feeding  — Salt— Water  — Shade  — 
Lambs — Castration -Docking — Washing — Shearing— Value  of  Sheep  to  the 
Farmer— An  Anecdote 73 

V.— SWINE. 

Natural  History  of  Swine— The  Wild  Boar— Opinions  Respecting  the  Hog— 
The  Hog  among  the  Greeks  and  Eomans— Swine  Breeding  in  Gaul  and 
Spain— Abhorrence  toward  Swine's  Flesh  among  the  Jews,  Egyptians,  Mo- 
hammedans, and  Others— Cuvier's  Opinion — Unwholesomeness  of  Swine's 
Flesh  in  Warm  Climates— Breeds  of  Swine— The  "  Land  Pike"— The  Chi- 
nese Hog -The  Berkshire  Breed— The  Suffolk  Breed— The  Essex  Breed— 
The  Chester  Hog — Points  of  the  Hog— Feeding — The  Piggery 95 

VI.— IMPROVEMENT   OF  BREEDS 

Selection  of  the  Sire  and  Dam — How  the  Cream  Pot  Breed  was  Produced— 
In-and-in  Breeding — Youatt's  Opinion — Crossing— Origin  of  La  Chamois 
Sheep— The  best  Breeds  most  Profitable— How  to  Improve  One's  Stock- 
How  Improvements  may  be  bred  Out  as  well  as  In 108 

VII— DISEASES   AND  THEIR   CURE. 

About  throwing  Physic  to  the  Dogs— Wild  Animals  seldom  Sick- The  Eeason 
why — Causes  of  Disease  among  Domestic  Animals— How  they  may  be  kept 
In  Perfect  Health— Treatment  of  their  Diseases— The  Water-Cure  for  Ani- 
mals   114 

VIE.—  POULTRY. 

The  Domestic  Fowl— Wild  Origin  Unknown— General  Characteristics  of  the 
Domestic  Fowl— The  Spanish  Fowl— The  Dorking— The  Polish  Fowl -The 
Hamburg  Fowl— The  Dominique  Fowl— The  Leghorn  Fowl— The  Shang- 
hais and  Cochin  Chinas— The  Bantam — The  Game  Fowl — Mongrels — Choice 
of  Breed— Accommodations  -Incubation— Bearing  Chickens— Five  Eules— 
The  Guinea  Fowl — The  Domestic  Turkey — The  Principal  Eequisites  in 
Turkey  Bearing— General  Directions— The  Domestic  Goose  -  How  to  Bear 
Geese— Shearing  instead  of  Plucking— The  Domestic  Duck— Best  Varieties 
—How  to  Eear  Ducks  -Fattening— Preparing  Poultry  for  Market 118 

IX.-BEE-KEEPING. 

Wonders  of  the  Bee-Hive— The  three  kinds  of  Bees— The  Queen  and  her  Du- 
ties—Curious Facts— How  the  Cells  are  Made— Bee-Bread— Ventilation  by 
the  Bees  on  Scientific  Principles— The  Apiary — Bee-Hives—How  to  Make 
them— Sectional  Hives -Mr.  Luda's  Hive-  Swarming— Bobbing  the  Hive— 
Wintering-Feeding— Killing  the  Drones 148 

APPENDIX. 

Horse  Taming 161 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


I. 

THE     HORSE, 

A  horse  !  a  horse  !    My  kingdom  for  a  horse  !— Shakspeare. 

I.-HISTOKY. 

HE  horse  is  probably  a  native  of  the  warm  coun- 
tries of  the  East,  where  he  is  found  wild  in  a 
considerable  state  of  perfection.  Its  use,  both 
as  a  beast  of  burden  and  for  the  purposes  of  war, 
early  attracted  the  attention  of  mankind.  Thus 
when  Joseph  proceeded  with  his  father's  body  from  Egypt  into 
Canaan,  "there  accompanied  him  both  chariots  and  horsemen" 
(Gen.  xix.) ;  and  the  Canaanites  are  said  to  have  gone  out  to  fight 
against  Israel  "  with  many  horses  and  chariots"  (Joshua  ii.  4). 
This  was  more  than  sixteen  hundred  years  before  Christ. 

The  horse  was  early  employed  on  the  course.  In  the  year 
1450  B.  o.  the  Olympic  games  were  established  in  Greece,  at 
which  horses  were  used  in  chariot  and  other  races. 

No  horses  were  found  either  on  the  continent  or  on  the 
islands  of  the  New  World ;  but  the  immense  droves  now  ex- 
isting in  parts  of  both  North  and  South  America,  all  of  which 
have  descended  from  the  two  or  three  mares  and  stallions  left 
by  the  early  Spanish  voyagers,  prove  very  clearly  that  the 
climate  and  soil  of  tfhese  countries  is  well  adapted  to  their 
propagation. 

Professor  Low  says :  "  The  horse  is  seen  to  be  affected  in  his 
1* 


10  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

character  and  form  by  the  agencies  of  food  and  climate,  and  it 
may  he  by  other  causes  unknown  to  us.  He  sustains  the  tem- 
perature of  the  most  burning  regions ;  but  there  is  a  degree  of 
cold  at  which  he  can  not  exist,  and  as  he  approaches  this  limit 
his  temperament  and  external  conformation  are  affected.  In 
Iceland,  at  the  Arctic  Circle,  he  has  become  a  dwarf;  in  Lapland, 
at  latitude  65°,  he  has  given  place  to  the  reindeer ;  and  in  Kamt- 
schatka,  at  62°,  he  has  given  place  to  the  dog.  The  nature 
and  abundance  of  his  food,  too,  greatly  affect  his  character  and 
form.  A  country  of  heaths  and  innutritious  herbs  will  not 
produce  a  horse  so  large  and  strong  as  one  of  plentiful  herbage ; 
the  horse  of  the  mountains  will  be  smaller  than  that  of  the 
plains ;  the  horse  of  the  sandy  desert  than  that  of  the  watered 
valley."* 

IL— BEEED8. 

The  genus  Equus,  according  to  modern  naturalists,  consists 
of  six  different  animals — the  horse  (L.  caballus) ;  the  ass  (E. 
(Minus) ;  the  quagga  (E.  quagga) ;  the  dziggithai  (E.  hemionus) ; 
the  mountain  zebra  (E.  zebra} ;  and  the  zebra  of  the  plains 
(E.  lurcJielli). 

Of  the  horse  there  are  many  varieties  or  breeds.  Ineffect- 
ual attempts  have  been  made  to  decide  which  variety  now 
existing  constitutes  the  original  breed  ;  some  contending  for  the 
Barb  and  others  for  the  wild  horses  of  Tartary.  It  is  of  the 
latter  that  Byron  thus  speaks  in  "Mazeppa:" 

With  flowing  tail  and  flying  mane, 
With  nostrils  never  streaked  with  pain, 
Mouths  bloodless  to  the  bit  or  rein, 
And  feet  that  iron  never  shod, 
And  flanks  uascarred  by  spur  or  rod, 
A  thousand  horse— the  wild,  the  free — 
Likes  waves  that  follow  o'er  the  sea, 
Came  thundering  on. 

The  principal  breeds  of  horses  now  bred  in  the  United  States 
are  the  Race-Horse,  the  Arabian,  the  Morgan,  the  Canadian, 

*  Illustrations  of  the  Breeds  of  Animals. 


THE    IIoiiS'E.  11 

the  Norman,  the  Cleveland  Bay,  the  Conestoga,  the  Virginia 
Horse,  the  Clydesdale,  and  the  Wild  or  Prairie  Horse. 

1.  The  Race- Horse. — "There  is  much  dispute,"  Mr.  Youatt 
says,  "  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  Thorougli-bred  Horse. 
By  some  he  is  traced  through  both  sire  and  dam  to  Eastern  pa- 
rentage ;  others  believe  him  to  be  the  native  horse,  improved 
and  perfected  by  judicious  crossings  with  the  Barb,  the  Turk, 
or  the  Arabian.  The  Steed  Book,  which  is  an  authority  with 
every  English  breeder,  traces  all  the  old  racers  to  some  Eastern 
origin;  or  it  traces  them  until  the  pedigree  is  lost  in  the 
uncertainty  of  an  early  period  of  breeding. 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  as  to  the  origin  of  the  race- 
horse, the  strictest  attention  has  for  the  last  fifty  years  been 
paid  to  pedigree.  In  the  descent  of  almost  every  modern  racer 
not  the  slightest  flaw  can  be  discovered." 

The  racer  is  generally  distinguished,  according  to  the  same 
authority,  by  his  beautiful  Arabian  head ;  his  fine  and  finely- 
set  neck;  his  oblique,  lengthened  shoulders;  his  well-bent 
hinder  legs ;  his  ample  muscular  quarters  ;  his  flat  legs,  rather 
short  from  the  knee  downward,  although  not  always  so  deep 
as  they  should  be ;  and  his  long  and  elastic  pastern. 

The  use  of  thorough-bred  and  half-bred  horses  for  domes- 
tic purposes  is  becoming  common  in  England.  The  half-bred 
horse  is  not  only  much  handsomer  than  the  common  horse,  but 
his  speed  and  power  of  endurance  are  infinitely  greater. 

"The  acknowledged  superiority  of  Northern  carriage  and 
draught  stock,"  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Spirit  of  the  Times 
says,  "  is  owing  almost  entirely  to  the  fact  that  thorough-bred 
horses  have  found  their  way  North  and  East  from  Long  Island 
and  New  Jersey,  where  great  numbers  are  annually  disposed  of 
that  are  unsuited  to  the  course." 

For  the  farm,  the  pure  thorough-bred  horse  would  be  nearly 
useless.  He  lacks  weight  and  substance  to  give  value  and  power 
for  draught.  For  road  work  the  same  objections  will  apply, 
although  not  to  the  same  extent,  perhaps.  The  best  English 
road  horse  is  a  cross  of  the  thorough-bred  and  the  Cleveland. 


12  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

2.  The  Arabian  Horse. — The  genealogy  of  the  Arabian 
horse,  according  to  Arab  account,  is  known  for  two  thousand 
years.  Many  of  them  have  written  and  attested  pedigrees  ex- 
tending more  than  four  hundred  years,  and,  with  true  Eastern 
exaggeration,  traced  by  oral  tradition  from  the  stud  of  Solo- 
mon. A  more  careful  account  is  kept  of  these  genealogies  than 
of  those  of  the  most  ancient  family  of  the  proudest  Arab  chief, 
and  very  singular  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  the  possi- 
bility of  fraud,  so  far  as  the  written  pedigree  extends. 

The  head  of  the  Arabian  horse  is  inimitable.  The  broadness 
and  squareness  of  the  forehead,  the  shortness  and  fineness  of  the 
muzzle,  the  prominence  and  brilliancy  of  the  eye,  the  smallness 
of  the  ears,  and  the  beautiful  course  of  the  veins,  are  its  char- 
acteristics. In  the  formation  of  the  shoulders  next  to  the  head, 
the  Arabian  is  superior  to  any  other  breed.  The  withers  are 
high  and  the  shoulder-blades  inclined  backward,  and  so  nicely 
adjusted  that  in  descending  a  hill  the  point  or  edge  of  the  hain 
never  ruffles  the  skin.  The  fineness  of  the  legs  and  the  oblique 
position  of  the  pasterns  may  seem  to  lessen  his  strength ;  but 
the  leg,  although  small,  is  flat  and  wiry,  and  its  bones  uncom- 
monly dense.* 

Richardson  says :  "  Often  may  the  traveler  in  the  desert,  on 
entering  within  the  folds  of  a  tent,  behold  the  interesting  spec- 
tacle of  a  magnificent  courser  extended  upon  the  ground,  and 
some  half  dozen  little  dark-skinned,  naked  urchins  scrambling 
across  her  body,  or  reclining  in  sleep,  some  upon  her  neck, 
some  on  her  body,  and  others  pillowed  upon  her  heels ;  nor  do 
the  children  ever  experience  injury  from  their  gentle  playmate. 
She  recognizes  the  family  of  her  friend,  her  patron,  and  toward 
them  all  the  natural  sweetness  of  her  disposition  leans,  even  to 
overflowing." 

The  Arabian  horse  Tartar,  whose  portrait  we  give  on  the  next 
page,  is  thus  described  in  the  New  England  Farmer :  "  This 
beautiful  horse  was  bred  by  Asa  Pingree,  of  Topsfield,  Mass. 

*  Youatt. 


14  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

He  now  stands  fifteen  and  one  fourth  hands  high;  weighs 
nine  hundred  pounds ;  is  of  dark-gray  color,  with  dark  mane 
and  tail.  He  was  sired  by  the  imported,  full-blood  Arabian 
horse  'Imaum,'  and  is  seven  years  old  this  spring.  This 
engraving,  copied  from  life,  gives  the  figure  of  '  Tartar,'  but  can 
not  represent  the  agile  action,  flashing  eye,  and  cat-like  nimble- 
ness  of  all  his  movements.  It  shows  the  beautiful  Arabian 
head  and  finely -set-on  neck;  his  ample  muscular  quarters; 
his  flat  legs,  rather  short  from  the  knee  downward ;  and  his 
long  and  elastic  pastern.  All  his  motions  are  light  and  exceed- 
ingly graceful,  and  his  temper  so  docile  that  a  child  may 
handle  him." 

3.  The  Morgan  Horse. — This  celebrated  American  breed  is 
probably  a  cross  between  the  English  race-horse  and  the  com- 
mon New  England  mare.  It  is  perhaps,  all  things  considered, 
the  very  finest  breed  for  general  usefulness  now  existing  in  the 
United  States.  Mr.  S.  "W.  Jewett,  a  celebrated  stock  breeder, 
in  an  article  in  the  Cultivator,  says : 

"  I  believe  the  Morgan  blood  to  be  the  best  ever  infused  into 
the  Northern  horse.  The  Morgans  are  well  known  and  esteem- 
ed for  activity,  hardiness,  gentleness,  and  docility ;  well  adapted 
for  all  work  ;  good  in  every  spot  except  for  races  on  the  turf. 
They  are  lively  and  spirited,  lofty  and  elegant  in  their  action, 
carrying  themselves  gracefully  in  the  harness.  They  have 
clean  bone,  sinewy  legs,  compactness,  short,  strong  backs, 
powerful  lungs,  strength,  and  endurance.  They  are  known  by 
their  short,  clean  heads,  width  across  the  face  at  the  eyes, 
eyes  lively  and  prominent;  they  have  open  and  wide  under 
jaws,  large  windpipe,  deep  brisket,  heavy  and  round  body, 
broad  in  the  back,  short  limbs  in  proportion  to  size  (of  body); 
they  have  broad  quarters,  a  lively,  quick  action,  indomitable 
spirit,  move  true  and  easy  in  a  good,  round  trot,  and  are  fast 
on  the  walk ;  color  dark  bay,  chestnut,  brown,  or  black,  with 
dark,  flowing,  wavy  mane  and  tail.  They  make  the  best  of 
roadsters,  and  live  to  a  great  age." 

All  do  not  agree,  however,  with  this  estimate  of  the  Morgans. 


THE   HOUSE. 


15 


A  distinguished  judge  of  horses  in  Vermont,  quoted  by  Randall 
in  his  Introduction  to  Youatt  on  the  Horse,  says : 

"They  [the  Morgans]  are  good  for  an  hour's  drive — for  short 
stages.  They  are  good  to  run  around  town  with.  They  are 
good  in  the  light  pleasure-wagon — prompt,  lively  (not  spirited), 
and  'trappy.'  There  is  no  question  among  those  who  have 
had  fair  opportunities  of  comparing  the  Morgans  with  horses 
of  purer  blood  and  descended  from  different  stocks,  in  regard  to 
the  relative  position  of  the  Morgan.  He  is,  as  he  exists  at  the 
present  day,  inferior  in  size,  speed,  and  bottom — in  fact,  in  all 
those  qualities  necessary  to  the  performance  of  '  great  deeds' 


Fig.  2. 


SlII-.KMAN   MORGAN. 


on  the  road  or  the  farm,  to  the  descendants  of  Messenger,  Du- 
roc,  imported  Magnum  Bonum,  and  many  other  horses  of  de- 
served celebrity." 

Sherman  Morgan,  whose  portrait  we  are  permitted  to  copy 
from  Linsley's  "Morgan  Horse,"  was  foaled  in  1835,  the  prop- 
erty of  Moses  Cook,  of  Campton,  N.  H.  Sired  by  Sherman,  g 
sire,  Justin  ^forgan.  The  pedigree  of  the  dam  not  fully  estab- 
lished, but  conceded  to  have  been  a  very  fine  animal,  and  said  to 


16  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

be  from  the  Justin  Morgan.  Sherman  Morgan  is  fifteen  hands 
high,  weighs  about  1,050  Ibs.,  is  dark  chestnut,  and  very  much 
resembles  his  sire  Sherman,  but  heavier,  stockier,  and  not  as 
much  action.  A  fine  horse,  and  is  now  kept  in  the  stable  at 
Lancaster,  N.  H.,  where  the  Sherman  died.  He  is  owned  by 
A.  J.  Congdon. 

4.  The  Canadian  Horse. — This  horse  abounds  in  the  Cana- 
dian Provinces  and  in  the  Northern  States  of  the  Union,  and  is 
too  well  known  to  require  a  particular  description.     It  is  mainly 
of  Norman-French  descent.     It  is  a  hardy,  long-lived  animal, 
is  easily  kept,  and  very  useful  on  a  farm,  although  generally  too 
small  for  heavy  work.     A  cross  between  stallions  of  this  breed 
and  our  common  mares  produces  a  superior  horse,  and  such 
crosses  are  finding  favor  among  farmers. 

5.  The  Norman  Horse. — The  French  or  Norman  horse,  from 
which  the  Canadian  is  descended,  is  destined  to  take  a  more 
prominent  place  than  has  hitherto  been  assigned  to  it  among 
our  working  horses.     We  introduce  an  engraving  of  one  of  this 
breed,   called  Louis  Philippe,   which  was  bred  by  Edward 
Harris,  of  Moorestown  N.  J.,  by  whom  the  breed  was  imported 
from  France. 

The  Norman  horse  is  from  the  Spanish,  of  Arabian  ancestry, 
and  crossed  upon  the  draught  horses  of  Normandy.  Mr. 
Harris  had  admired  the  speed,  toughness,  and  endurance  of  the 
French  stage-coach  horses,  and  resolved  to  import  this  valuable 
stock,  and  deserves  the  thanks  of  the  American  public  for  his 
perseverance  and  sacrifices  in  this  enterprise.  The  Norman 
horses  are  enduring  and  energetic  beyond  description,  and  keep 
their  condition  on  hard  fare  and  brutal  treatment,  when  most 
other  breeds  would  quail  and  die.  This  variety  of  horse  is 
employed  in  France  to  draw  the  ponderous  stage-coaches,  called 
"diligences,"  and  travelers  express  astonishment  at  the  extra- 
ordinary performances  of  these  animals.  Each  of  these  huge 
vehicles  is  designed  for  eighteen  passengers,  and  when  thus 
loaded  are  equal  to  five  tons  weight.  Five  horses  are  attached 
to  the  clumsy  and  cumbrous  carriage,  with  rude  harness,  and 


18  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

their  regular  rate  of  speed  with  this  enormous  load  is  seven 
miles  an  hour,  and  this  pace  is  maintained  over  rough  and 
hilly  regions.  On  some  routes  the  roads  are  lighter,  when  the 
speed  is  increased  to  eight,  nine,  and  sometimes  to  ten  miles  an 
hour. 

6.  Cleveland  Bay. — According  to  Mr.  Youatt,  the  true  Cleve- 
land Bay  is  nearly  extinct  in  Zrgland.     They  were  formerly 
employed  as  a  heavy,  slow   coach-horse.     Mr.   Youatt  says: 
"  The  origin  of  the  better  kind  of  coach-horse  is  the  Cleveland 
Bay,    confined  principally  to   Yorkshire   and   Durham,   with 
•perhaps  Lincolnshire  on  one  side  and  Northumberland  on  the 
other,  but  difficult  to  meet  with  pure  in  either  county.     The 
Cleveland  mare  is  crossed  by  a  three-fourths  or  through-bred 
horse  of  sufficient  substance  and  height,  and  the  produce  is  the 
coach-horse  most  in  repute,  with  his  arched  crest  and  high 
action.     From  the  thorough-bred  of  sufficient  height,  but  not  of 
so  much  substance,  we  obtain  the  four-in-hand  and  superior 
curricle-horse. 

Cleveland  Bays  were  imported  into  western  New  York  a 
few  years  since,  where  they  have  spread  considerably.  They 
have  often  been  exhibited  at  our  State  fairs.  They  are  mon- 
strously large,  and  for  their  size  are  symmetrical  horses,  and 
possess  very  respectable  action.  Whether  they  would  endure 
on  the  road  at  any  but  a  moderate  pace,  we  are  not  informed, 
and  have  some  doubts.  Whether  they  spring  from  the  genu- 
ine and  unmixed  Cleveland  stock,  now  so  scarce  in  England, 
we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  The  half-bloods,  the  produce 
of  a  cross  with  our  common  mares,  are  liked  by  many  of  our 
farmers.  They  are  said  to  make  strong,  serviceable  farm 
beasts — though  rather  prone  to  sullenness  of  temper.* 

7.  The  Conestoga  Horse. — This  horse,  which  is  found  chiefly 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  adjacent  States,  is  more  remarkable 
for  endurance  than  symmetry.     In  height  it  sometimes  reaches 
seventeen  hands ;   the  legs  being  long  and  the  body  light. 

*  Randall. 


THE   HOUSE.  19 

The  Conestoga  breed  makes  good  carriage  and  heavy  draft 
horses. 

8.  The  Clydesdale  Horse. — The  Clydesdale  horse  is  descended 
from  a  cross  between  the  Flemish  horse  and  the  Lanarkshire 
(Scotland)  mares.  The  mare  is  derived  from  the  district  on  the 
Clyde  where  the  breed  is  chiefly  found.  Horses  of  this  breed 
are  deservedly  esteemed  for  the  cart  and  for  the  plow  on 
heavy  soil.  They  are  strong,  hardy,  steady,  true  pullers,  of 
sound  constitution,  and  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  hands  high. 
They  are  broad,  thick,  heavy,  compact,  well  made  for  durabil- 


THE   CLYDESDALE   HORSE. 


ity,  health,  and  power.  They  have  sturdy  legs,  strong  shoul- 
ders, back,  and  hips,  a  well-arched  neck,  and  a  light  face  and 
head. 

9.  The  Virginia  Horse. — This  breed  predominates  in  the 
State  from  which  it  takes  its  name,  and  abounds  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  in  all  the  Southern,  Western,  and  Middle  States. 
It  derives  its  origin  from  English  blood-horses  imported  at 
various  times,  and  has  been  most  diligently  and  purely  kept 
in  the  South.  The  celebrated  Shark,  the  best  horse  of  his  day, 


20  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

was  sire  of  the  best  Virginian  horses,  while  Tally-ho,  son  of 
Highflyer,  peopled  the  Jerseys.* 

10.  The    Wild  or  Prairie  Horse.  —  In  the  Southwestern 
States  wild  horses  abound,  which  are  doubtless  sprung  from 
the  same  Spanish  stock  as  the  wild  horses  of  the  pampas  and 
other  parts  of  the  southern  continent,  all  of  which  are  of  the 
celebrated  Andalusian  breed,  derived  from  the  Moorish  Barb. 
The  prairie  horses  are  often  captured,  and  when  domesticated 
are  found  to  be  capable  of  great  endurance.     They  are  not, 
however,  recommended  by  the  symmetry  or  elegance  of  ap- 
pearance for  which  their  type   is  so  greatly  distinguished, 
being  generally  rather  small  and  scrubby.t 

11.  The  American  Trotting-Horse. — "  We  can  not  refrain," 
H.  S.  Kandall  says,  in  the  Introduction  to  Youatt  on  the  Horse, 
already  referred  to,  "from  calling  attention  to  our  trotting- 
horses,  though  in  reality  they  do  not,  at  least  as  a  whole,  con- 
stitute a  breed,  or  even  a  distinct  variety  or  family.     There  is 
a  family  of  superior  trotters,  including  several  of  the  best  our 
country  has  ever  produced,  the  descendants  of  Abdallah  and 
Messenger,  and  running  back  through  their  sire  Mambrino  to 
the  thorough-bred  horse,  old  Messenger.     But  many  of  our 
best  trotters  have  no  known  pedigrees,  and  some  of  them, 
without  doubt,  are  entirely  destitute  of  the  blood  of  the  race- 
horse.    Lady  Suffolk  is  by  Engineer,  but  the  blood  of  Engineer 
is  unknown  (she  is  a  gray  mare,  fifteen  hands  and  two  inches 
high).     Dutchman  has  no  known  pedigree.     Other  celebrated 
trotters  stand  in  the  same  category — though  we  are  inclined  to 
think  that  a  decided  majority  of  the  best,  especially  at  long 
distances,  have  a  greater  or  less  infusion  of  the  blood  of  the 
race-horse. 

"  The  United  States  has  undoubtedly  produced  more  superior 
trotters  than  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  in  no  other 
country  has  the  speed  of  the  best  American  trotters  been 
equaled." 

*  Farmers'  Eegister.  t  Farmers'  Encyclopedia. 


THE   HOBSE.  21 

III.— POINTS  OF  HORSES. 

Every  one  who  has  anything  to  do  with  the  horse  should 
know  something  of  the  "points"  by  means  of  which  a  good 
animal  is  distinguished  from  a  bad  one.  It  is  necessary  to 
understand  this,  no  matter  for  what  particular  service  the  horse 
may  be  required ;  and  the  qualities  indicated  by  these  points 
are  universal  in  all  breeds. 

To  illustrate  this  subject  and  teach  the  uninstructed  how  to 
correctly  judge  the  horse,  we  introduce  the  accompanying  let- 
tered outlines. 

It  is  evident  that  to  be  a  good  judge  of  a  horse,  one  must 
have  in  his  memory  a  model  by  which  to  try  all  that  may  be 
presented  to  his  criticism  and  judgment. 

Fig.  5  represents  such  a  model.  It  is  a  thorough-bred 
horse,  in  which  the  artist  has  endeavored  to  avoid  every  fault. 
Fig.  6  is  designed  to  represent  a  horse  in  which  every  good 
point  is  suppressed.  It  may  not  be  common  to  see  a  horse 
totally  destitute  of  every  good  point ;  but  injudicious  breeding 
has  so  obliterated  the  good  ones,  that  the  cut  fig.  6  is  not  a 
caricature,  though  we  confess  that  its  original  is  little  less  than 
a  caricature  on  the  true  ideal  of  a  horse.  Such  a  head  is  com- 
mon, so  is  such  a  shoulder,  such  a  back,  quarters,  and  legs ; 
and  if  they  are  not  very  often  all  combined  in  one  animal,  they 
are,  unfortunately,  often  found  distributed  among  the  common 
breeds  in  such  abundance  as  to  mar  the  beauty  and  the  service 
of  three  quarters  of  all  the  horses  hi  ordinary  use.  The  letters 
are  alike  on  both  figures,  and  will  enable  the  reader  to  draw  a 
comparison  between  the  respective  points  of  each.  We  copy 
the  description  of  the  cuts  from  the  Farmer's  Companion : 

"  The  most  important  part  of  all  is  probably  the  direction  of 
the  shoulder,  from  A  to  B.  Next  to  this,  the  length  from  the 
hip  to  the  hock,  C  to  D.  The  point  which  next  to  these  prob- 
ably most  contributes  to  speed  and  easy  going,  is  the  shortness 
of  the  canon  bone  between  the  knee  and  the  pastern  joint,  E 
to  F,  a  point  without  which  no  leg  is  good.  A  horse  which 
has  all  these  three  points  good  will  necessarily  and  infallibly 


22  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

stand  over  a  great  deal  of  ground,  "W  to  X,  that  is,  the  distance 

between  his  fore  and  hind  feet  will  be  great ;  while  one  which 

is  deficient  in  all  of  them,  or,  indeed,  in  the  two  first,  will  as 

Fig.  5. 


assuredly  stand  like  a  goat  with  all  its  feet  gathered  under  him, 
and  will  never  be  either  a  fast  horse  or  safe  under  saddle.    A 


Fig.  6. 


horse,  not  in  motion,  may  be  more  speedily  judged  of  by  this 
feature  than  by  any  other.  One  consequence  of  a  fine  receding 
shoulder  is  to  give  length  in  the  Tiumerus^  or  upper  arm,  from 


THE   HORSE.  23 

B  to  P,  without  which  a  great  stride  can  hardly  be  attained, 
but  which  will  seldom  if  ever  be  found  wanting  if  the  shoulder- 
blade  be  well  placed.  A  prominent  and  fleshy  chest  is  admired 
by  some,  probably  because  they  think  it  indicative  of  powerful 
lungs  and  room  for  their  use.  We  object  to  it  as  adding  to 
what  it  is  so  desirable  to  avoid — the  weight  to  be  lifted  forward 
in  the  act  of  progression — while  all  the  space  the  lungs  require 
is  to  be  obtained  by  depth  instead  of  breadth,  as  from  A  to  H, 
in  which  point,  if  a  horse  be  deficient,  he  will  seldom  be  fit 
for  fast  work.  The  other  points  which  we  have  marked  for 
comparison  are  G-  to  E,  or  the  width  of  the  leg  immediately 
below  the  knee,  which  in  a  well-formed  leg  will  be  equal  all  the 
way  down ;  in  a  bad  one  it  will  be  narrowish  immediately  below 
the  knee,  or  what  is  called  '  tied  in."1  The  shape  of  the  neck 
is  more  important  than  might  at  first  thought  be  supposed,  as 
affecting  both  the  wind  and  the  handiness  of  the  mouth ;  no 
horse  with  a  faulty  neck  and  a  head  ill-attached  to  it,  as  at  Q 
to  K  in  fig.  6,  ever  possesses  a  good  or  manageable  mouth. 
The  points  of  the  face  are  not  without  significance,  a  feebly 
developed  countenance  generally  showing  weakness  of  courage 
if  not  of  constitution.  We  therefore  like  to  see  a  large  and 
bony  protuberance  above  the  eye,  as  at  L  in  fig.  5,  giving  the 
appearance  of  a  sinking  immediately  below,  followed  by  a 
slightly  Roman  or  protruding  inclination  toward  the  nose. 
These  when  present  are  generally  signs  of  'blood,'  which  is  in 
some  proportion  or  other  a  quality  without  which  no  breed  of 
horses  will  ever  improve  or  long  entitle  itself  to  rank  as  other 
than  a  race  of  drudges,  fit  only  for  sand  or  manure  carts." 

Bearing  these  points  in  mind,  you  may,  by  observing  and 
comparing  the  different  animals  which  fall  under  your  eyes, 
soon  qualify  yourself  to  give  an  intelligent  opinion  of  a  horse. 
One  can  not  become  perfect  in  this  branch  of  knowledge  in  a 
week  or  in  a  year.  Certainly  no  careful  student  of  this  little 
book  will  allow  himself  to  be  imposed  upon  in  the  purchase  of 
an  animal  having  many  of  the  bad  points  represented  in  fig.  6. 
The  perfect  horse  (fig.  5)  you  will  not  expect  to  meet  every  day. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


A  badly  formed  horse  is  not  profitable  for  any  purpose; 
because,  if  so  formed,  they  are  either  clumsy,  inactive,  dull 
in  mind,  or  tender  and  easily  broken  down.     It  costs  just  as 
much  to  breed,  raise,  and  keep  a  poor  horse  as  a  good  one,  and 
the  poor  one  is  low  in  value  and  unsalable;  besides,  he  is  un- 
able to  do  good  service  in  any  sphere,  or  to  endure. 
We  copy  from  Lavater  six  heads  of  horses,  which  indicate 
Fig.  7.  different  temperaments  and   a  great 

diversity  of  character  and  disposition. 
The  accompanying  remarks  are  from 
the  American  Phrenological  Jour- 
nal : 

"Fig.  Y  has  a  slow,  heavy  temper- 
ament ;  is  without  spirit,  awkward  in 
motion,  lazy,  stupid  in  intellect,  diffi- 
cult to  teach,   bears    the    whip  and 
needs  it,  though  it  is  soon  forgotten.     He  is  too  lazy  to  hold  up 


Fig.  8. 


his  ears  or  under  lip,  and   is  a 

regular  hog-necked,  heavy-footed 

animal. 

"  Fig.   8  has   more  intelligence 

and  spirit,  a  more  active  temper- 
ament, and  is  disposed  to  anger, 

will  not  bear  the  whip,  and  shows 

his  anger,  when  teased  or  irritated, 

in  a  bold,  direct  onset  with  the 

teeth. 

"Fig.  9  is  a  very  active  temperament;   is  a  quick,  keen, 
Fig.  9.  active,  intelligent  animal,  but   is  sly, 

cunning,  mischievous,  and  trickish; 
will  be  hard  to  catch  in  the  field,  in- 
clined to  slip  the  bridle,  will  be  a  great 
shirk  in  double  harness,  and  will  re- 
quire a  sharp  eye  and  steady  hand  to 
drive  him,  and  will  want  something 
besides  a  frolicsome  boy  for  a  master." 


THE   HORSE. 


25 


"  Fig.  10  is  obstinate,  headstrong,  easily  irritated,  deceitful, 
and  savage ;  will  be  hard  to  drive,  Fig.  10. 

unhandy,  unyielding,  sour-temper- 
ed, bad  to  back,  inclined  to  balk, 
disposed  to  fight  and  crowd  his 
mate,  and  bite  and  kick  his  driver." 

"Fig.  11  has  a  noble,  proud  dis- 
position, and  a  lofty,  stately  car- 
riage, but  he  is  timid,  restive,  and 
easily  irritated  and  thrown  off  his 
mental  balance.  Such  horses  should 
be  used  by  steady,  calm  men,  and  on  roads  and  in  business 
which  have  little  variety,  change,  or  means  of  excitement. 

Fig.  11.  Fig.  12. 


"  Fig.  12  is  a  calm,  self-possessed  animal,  with  a  noble,  eleva- 
ted disposition,  trustworthy,  courageous,  good-tempered,  well 
adapted  to  family  use,  but  not  remarkable  for  sharpness  of 
13-  mind  or  activity  of  body. 

"Figs.  13  and  U  show  a 
great  contrast  in  shape  of 
head,  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, temperament,  dis- 
position, and  intelligence. 
The  first  is  a  most  noble 
animal. 

"Fig.  13  is  broad  be- 
tween the  eyes,  full,  round- 
ed,  and  prominent  in  the 
2 


26  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

forehead,  indicating  benevolence  and  intellect ;  broad  between 
the  ears,  showing  courage ;  broad  between  the  eyes,  evincing 
quickness  of  perception,  memory,  and  capacity  to  learn.  He 
can  be  taught  almost  anything,  can  be  trusted,  and  loves  and 
trusts  man ;  is  not  timid,  will  go  anywhere,  and  stand  without 

fastening  ;  never  kicks,  bites, 
or  runs  away. 

"Fig.  14:  shows  a  marked 
contrast  with  fig.  13  in  almost 
every  respect ;  his  narrow  and 
contracted  forehead  shows  a 

,|jii  >$PWm,  ,\  ''•  \  lack  of  intelligence,  kindness, 
:  "  X  andtractability;  is  timid  and 
shy  in  harness,  vicious,  un- 
friendly, disposed  to  kick, 
bite,  balk,  or  run  away,  and 
is  fit  only  for  a  mill  or  horse-boat.  For  all  general  uses  he 
should  be  avoided,  arid  by  no  means  should  such  an  organiza- 
tion be  employed  for  breeding  purposes." 

IV._ COLOK. 

W.  0.  Spooner,  author  of  several  veterinarian  works,  has  the 
following  remarks  on  color  as  a  sign  of  other  qualities  in  the 
horse : 

"We  have  found  both  good  and  bad  horses  of  every  color, 
and  the  only  rule  we  can  admit  as  correct  is,  that  certain  colors 
denote  deficient  breeding,  and  therefore  such  animal  is  not 
likely  to  be  so  good  as  he  looks,  but  is  probably  deficient  in 
bottom  or  the  powers  of  endurance.  These  colors  are  black, 
which  prevails  so  much  wTith  cart-horses,  and  sorrel,  dun,  pie- 
bald, etc. ;  the  possessors  of  which  come  from  the  North,  and 
possess  no  Eastern  blood.  Black  horses,  unless  evidently  high 
bred,  are  very  often  soft  and  sluggish,  with  breeding  insuf- 
ficient for  their  work;  the  pedigree  of  the  majority  of  them 
may  be  dated  from  the  plow-tail,  whatever  admixtures  there 
may  have  been  since.  White  hair  denotes  a  thin  skin,  which 


THE   HOESE.  27 

is  objectionable  when  it  prevails  on  the  legs  of  horses,  as  such 

*V\. 

Fig.  15.  x.  X7//M'''         F-»¥«««i 


COMMON  TERMS  DENOTING  THE  PARTS  OF  A  HOESE. 

animals  are  more  disposed  to  swelled  legs  and  cracked  heels 
- 16-  than  others.    Bay  horses  with  black 

legs  are  greatly  esteemed,  yet  we 
have  known  many  determined  slugs 
of  this  hue.  Their  constitution  is, 
however,  almost  invariably  good. 
Chestnut  is  the  prevailing  color 
with  our  race-horses,  and  conse- 
quently chestnut  horses  are  gener- 
ally pretty  well  bred,  and  possess 
*^e  S00^  an^  bacl  qualities  which 
obtain  most  among  thorough-breds. 

-- The  Suffblk  cart-h°rse  is  ais° dis- 

i  CTIOK  OF  A  HORSE'S  FOOT,    tinguishcd  by  his  light  chestnut  col- 


28  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

or ;  and  it  is  no  small  recommendation  to  find  that  this  breed 
has,  for  several  years  past,  carried  away  the  principal  prizes  at 
the  annual  shows  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 
Gray  is  a  very  good  color,  and  generally  denotes  a  considerable 
admixture  of  Eastern  blood." 

V.— STABLES. 

We  condense  from  Stewart's  admirable  "  Stable  Book"  the 
larger  portion  of  the  following  useful  hints  and  suggestions  in 
reference  to  stables  and  their  management. 

1.  Stables  as  they  Are. — Stable  architects  have  not  much  to 
boast  of.     When  left  to  themselves  they  seem  to  think  of  little 
beyond  shelter  and  confinement.     If  the  weather  be  kept  out 
and  the  horse  be  kept  in,  the  stable  is  sufficient.     If  light  and 
air  be  demanded,  the  doorway  will  admit  them,  and  other 
apertures  are  superfluous. 

The  majority  of  stables  have  been  built  with  little  regard  to 
the  comfort  and  health  of  the  horse.  Most  of  them  are  too 
small,  too  dark,  too  close,  or  too  open ;  and  some  are  mere 
dungeons,  destitute  of  every  convenience. 

2.  Situation  of  Stables. — When  any  choice  exists,  a  situation 
should  be  chosen  which  admits  of  draining,  shelter  from  the 
coldest  winds,  and  facility  of  access.     Damp  places  are  especially 
to  be  avoided.     It  is  in  damp  stables  that  we  expect  to  find 
horses  with  bad  eyes,  coughs,  greasy  heels,  swelled  legs,  mange, 
and  a  long,  dry,  staring  coat,  which  no  grooming  can  cure. 
Take  every  precaution,  then,  against  dampness  in  your  stables. 

3.  Size  of  Stables. — They  are  seldom  too  large  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  stalls ;  but  are  often  made  to  hold  too  many 
horses.     Horses  require  pure  air  as  well  as  human  beings ;  and 
the  process  of  breathing  has  the  same  effect  in  their  case  as  in 
ours — changing  it  to  that  poisonous  substance,  carbonic  acid 
gas.     With  twenty  or  thirty  horses  in  a  single  apartment  no 
ordinary  ventilation  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  air  pure.     Large 
stables,  too,  are  liable  to  frequent  and  great  alterations  of  tem- 
perature.    When  several  horses  are  out,  those  which  remain 


THE   HOKSE.  29 

are  often  rendered  uncomfortably  cold,  and  when  the  stable  is 
full  the  whole  are  fevered  or  excited  by  excess  of  heat.  Effi- 
cient ventilation — a  very  important  object — is  also  much  more 
difficult  in  a  large  than  in  a  small  stable. 

In  width  the  stable  may  vary  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  feet ; 
and  in  length  it  must  have  six  feet  for  each  stall.  Large  cart- 
horses require  a  little  more  room  both  in  length  and  breadth  of 
stable.  The  number  of  stalls  should  not  exceed  sixteen,  and  it 
would  be  better  if  there  were  only  eight. 

Double-rowed  stables,  or  those  in  which  the  stalls  occupy 
both  sides,  require  least  space,  and  for  horses  kept  at  full  work 
are  sufficiently  suitable,  but  for  carriage  horses  single-rowed 
stables  are  better.  If  the  double-rowed  are  used,  the  gangway 
should  be  wide,  to  prevent  the  horses  from  kicking  at  each 
other,  as  they  are  apt  to  do  when  they  grow  playful  from  half 
idleness. 

4.  Windows*-?— "Windows  are  too  much  neglected  in  stables,  and 
where  they  exist  at  all  are  generally  too  few,  too  small,  and  ill 
placed.     Some  think  horses  do  not  require  light — that  they 
thrive  best  in  the  dark ;  but  many  a  horse  has  become  blind 
for  the  want  of  light  in  his  stable.     When  side  windows  can 
not  be  introduced,  a  portion  of  the  hay  loft  must  be  sacrificed 
and  light  introduced  from  the  roof.     Side  windows  should  be 
so  arranged  that  the  light  will  not  fall  directly  upon  the  eyes 
of  the  horse. 

5.  Floors. — Stable  floors  may  be  of  stone,  brick,  plank,  or 
earth.     One  of  the  best  kinds  of  stable  floor,  where  the  soil  is 
dry,  is  made  of  a  composition  of  lime,  ashes,  and  clay,  mixed 
up  in  equal  parts  into  a  mortar  and  spread  from  twelve  to  fif- 
teen inches  deep  over  the  surface  of  the  ground  forming  the 
bottom  of  the  stable.     It  will  dry  in  ten  days  and  makes  a  very 
smooth,  fine  flooring,  particularly  safe,  easy,  and  agreeable  for 
horses  to  stand  upoD,  and  free  from  all  the  objections  to  stone, 
brick,  and  wood.* 

*  A.  B.  Allen. 


30  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

6.  Draining. — A  gutter  or  other  contrivance  for  carrying  off 
the  urine  should  always  be  made  in  a  stable,  otherwise  it  will 
be  foul  and  damp.     It  should  be  conveyed  into  a  tank  and  care- 
fully saved  as  manure. 

7.  Radcs  and  Mangers. — These  should  be  so  placed  that  the 
horse  can  eat  from  them  with  ease.     The  face  of  the  rack  next 
the  horse  should  be  perpendicular,  or  as  nearly  so  as  possible. 
Sometimes  the  face  is  so  sloping  and  the  rack  so  high  that  the 
horse  has  to  turn  his  head  almost  upside  down  to  get  at  his  food. 

The  mangers  or  troughs  from  which  the  horse  eats  his  grain 
are  now  sometimes  made  of  cast  iron,  which  we  deem  a  great 
improvement  over  wood.  The  manger  should  be  concave  and 
not  flat  at  the  bottom.  Mangers  are  generally  placed  too  low. 
The  bottom  should  be  from  three  feet  and  a  half  to  four  feet 
from  the  ground,  according  to  the  height  of  the  horse. 

8.  Ventilation  of  Stables. — Impure  air,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  is  hurtful  to  the  horse  as  well  as  to  the  human  being 
inducing  disease  and  shortening  life.     To  avoid  it  in  our  own 
case,  we  (sometimes!)  ventilate  our  houses.     If  we  would  have 
our  horses  healthy  we  must  do  the  same  for  the  stable.     Aper- 
tures, one  for  each  stall,  should  be  provided  for  carrying  off  the 
impure  air.     These  should  be  so  near  the  top  of  the  building  as 
practicable.     It  should  be  eight  or  ten  inches  square.     Smaller 
apertures  near  the  floor  or  not  far  from  the  horse's  nostrils  will 
serve  to  admit  fresh  air.* 

9.  Warmth,  etc. — If  you  wish  to  have  your  horses  thrive 
and  continue  healthy,  you  can  not  pay  too  much  attention  to 
their  comfort.     Their  stables  should  be  warm  in  winter  and 
cool  in  summer.     To  secure  these  conditions,  they  should  be 
properly  constructed.     [For  plans,  see  "  The  House."]     To  keep 
stables  sufficiently  warm,  no  artificial  means  are  required.     It 
is  enough  that  the  outside  air,  except  so  much  as  is  required 
for  ventilation,  be  excluded  during  the  coldest  weather.     Warm 
blankets  should  of  course  be  used  at  the  same  time. 


*  See  Chap'er  on  Barns  and  Stables,  in  "  The  House.' 


THE   HOESE.  31 

VI.— FEEDING. 

1.  The  Best  Food  for  Horses. — Considerable  care  and  system 
are  necessary  in  feeding  horses,  so  as  to  keep  them  in  the  best 
health  and  the  highest  working  order. 

"  The  best  food  for  ordinary  working-horses  in  America," 
A.  B.  Allen  says,  "is  as  much  good  hay  or  grass  as  they  will 
eat,  corn-stalks  or  blades,  or  for  the  want  of  these,  straw,  and 
a  mixture  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  quarts  per  day,  of 
about  half  and  half  of  oats  and  the  better  quality  of  wheat  bran. 
When  the  horse  is  seven  years  old  past,  two  to  four  quarts  of 
corn  or  hominy  or  meal  ground  from  the  corn  and  cob  is 
preferable  to  the  pure  grain.  Two  to  four  quarts  of  wheat, 
barley,  rye,  buckwheat,  peas,  or  beans,  either  whole  or  ground, 
may  be  substituted  for  the  corn.  A  pint  of  oil  meal  or  a  gill  of 
flax-seed  mixed  with  the  other  food  is  very  good  for  a  relish,  es- 
pecially in  keeping  up  a  healthy  system  and  the  bowels  open,  and 
in  giving  the  hair  a  fine  glossy  appearance.  Potatoes  and 
other  roots,  unless  cooked,  do  not  seem  to  be  of  much  benefit 
in  this  climate,  especially  in  winter — they  lie  cold  upon  the 
stomach  and  subject  the  horse  to  scouring ;  besides,  they  are 
too  watery  for  a  hard-working  animal.  Corn  is  fed  too  much 
at  the  South  and  West.  It  makes  horses  fat,  but  can  not  give 
them  that  hard,  muscular  flesh  which  oats  do;  hence  their 
softness  and  want  of  endurance  in  general  work  and  on  the 
road,  in  comparison  with  Northern  and  Eastern  horses,  reared 
and  fed  on  oats  and  more  nutritious  grasses." 

2.  Work  and  Digestion. — Slow  work  aids  digestion,  empties 
the  bowels,  and  sharpens  the  appetite.     Hence  it  happens  that 
on  Sunday  night  and  Monday  morning  there  are  more  cases  of 
colic  and  founder  than  during  any  other  part  of  the  week. - 
Horses  that  never  want  an  appetite  ought  not  to  have  an  un- 
limited allowance  of  hay  on  Sunday;    they  have  time  to 
eat  a  great  deal  more  than  they  need,  and  the  torpid  state  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels,  produced  by  a  day  of  idleness,  renders 
an  additional  quantity  very  dangerous.     Farm  and  cart  horses 
are  fed  immediately  before  commencing  their  labor,  and  the 


32  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

appetite  with  which  they  return  shows  that  the  stomach  is  not 
full. 

During  fast  work  digestion  is  suspended.  In  the  general 
commotion  excited  by  violent  exertion,  the  stomach  can  hardly 
be  in  a  favorable  condition  for  performing  its  duty.  The  blood 
circulates  too  rapidly-to  permit  the  formation  of  gastric  juice, 
or  its  combination  with  the  food ;  and  the  blood  and  the  nerv- 
ous influence  are  so  exclusively  concentrated  and  expended 
upon  the  muscular  system,  that  none  can  be  spared  for  carry- 
ing on  the  digestive  process. 

3.  Bulk  Essential. — Condensed  food  is  necessary  for  fast- 
working  horses.  Their  food  must  be  in  less  compass  than  that 
of  the  farm  or  cart  horse.  But  to  this  condensation  there  are 
some  limits.  Grain  affords  all,  and  more  than  all,  the  nutri- 
ment a  horse  is  capable  of  consuming,  even  under  the  most 
extraordinary  exertion.  His  stomach  and  bowels  can  hold 
more  than  they  are  able  to  digest.  Something  more  than  nu- 
triment is  wanted.  The  bowels  must  suffer  a  moderate  degree 
of  distension  ;  more  than  a  wholesome  allowance  of  grain  can 
produce. 

When  hay  is  very  dear  and  grain  cheap,  it  is  customary  in 
many  stables  to  give  less  than  the  usual  allowance  of  hay,  and 
more  grain.  The  alteration  is  sometimes  carried  too  far,  and 
is  often  made  too  suddenly.  The  horses  may  have  as  much 
grain  as  they  will  eat,  yet  it  does  not  suffice  without  fodder. 
Having  no  hay,  they  will  leave  the  grain  to  eat  the  litter. 
"When  the  ordinary  fodder,  then,  is  very  dear,  its  place  must 
be  supplied  by  some  other  which  will  produce  a  wholesome 
distension,  though  it  may  not  yield  so  much  nutriment.  Straw 
or  roots,  either  or  both,  may  be  used  in  such  cases.  The  ex- 
cessively tucked-up  flank,  and  the  horse's  repeated  efforts  to 
eat  his  litter,  show  when  his  food  is  not  of  sufficient  bulk,  and 
this  indication  must  not  be  disregarded. 

4.  Quantity  of  Food. — The  quantity  of  food  may  be  insuffi- 
cient, or  it  may  be  in  excess.  The  consumption  is  influenced 
by  the  work,  the  weather,  the  horse's  condition,  age,  temper, 


THE  HOUSE.  33 

form,  and  health ;  these  circumstances,  especially  the  work, 
must  regulate  the  allowance. 

When  the  horse  has  to  work  as  much  and  as  often  as  he  is 
able,  his  allowance  of  food  should  be  unlimited. 

When  the  work  is  such  as  to  destroy  the  legs  more  than  it 
exhausts  the  system,  the  food  must  be  given  with  some  restric- 
tion, unless  the  horse  be  a  poor  eater. 

When  the  work  is  moderate,  or  less  than  moderate,  a  good 
feeder  will  eat  too  much. 

When  the  weather  is  cold,  horses  that  are  much  exposed  to 
it  require  more  food  than  when  the  weather  is  warm. 

When  the  horse  is  in  good  working  condition,  he  needs  less 
food  than  while  he  is  only  getting  into  condition. 

Young  growing  horses  require  a  little  more  food  than  those 
of  mature  age ;  but,  as  they  are  not  fit  for  full  work,  the  dif- 
ference is  not  great. 

Old  horses,  those  that  have  begun  to  decline  in  vigor,  require 
more  food  than  the  young  or  the  matured. 

Hot-tempered,  irritable  horses  seldom  feed  well ;  but  those 
that  have  good  appetites  require  more  food  to  keep  them  in 
condition,  than  others  of  quiet  and  calm  disposition. 

Small-bellied,  narrow-chested  horses  require  more  food  than 
those  of  deep  and  round  carcass  ;  but  few  of  them  eat  enough 
to  maintain  them  in  condition  for  full  work. 

Lame,  greasy-heeled,  and  harness-galled  horses  require  an 
extra  allowance  of  food  to  keep  them  in  working  condition. 

Sickness,  fevers,  inflammations,  all  diseases  which  influence 
health  so  much  as  to  throw  the  horse  off  work,  demand,  with 
few  exceptions,  a  spare  diet,  which,  in  general,  consists  of 
bran-mashes,  grass,  carrots,  and  hay.* 

5.  Watering. — This  is  a  part  of  stable  management  little 
regarded  by  the  farmer.  He  lets  his  horses  loose  morning  and 
night,  and  they  go  to  the  nearest  pond  or  brook  and  drink  their 
fill,  and  no  harm  results,  for  they  obtain  that  kind  of  water 

*  Stewart's  Stable  Book. 
2* 


34:  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

which  nature  designed  them  to  have,  in  a  manner  prepared 
for  them  by  some  unknown  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  as 
well  as  by  the  deposition  of  many  saline  admixtures. 

The  difference  between  hard  and  soft  water  is  known  to 
every  one.  There  is  nothing  in  which  the  different  effect  of 
hard  and  soft  water  is  so  evident  as  in  the  stomach  and  di- 
gestive organs  of  the  horse.  Hard  water  drawn  fresh  from  the 
well  will  assuredly  make  the  coat  of  a  horse  unaccustomed  to 
it  stare,  and  it  will  not  unfrequently  gripe  and  otherwise  injure 
him.  He  is  injured,  however,  not  so  much  by  the  hardness  of 
the  well-water  as  by  its  coldness — particularly  by  its  coldness 
in  summer,  and  when  it  is  in  many  degrees  below  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  atmosphere.  The  water  in  the  brook  and  the 
pond  being  warmed  by  long  exposure  to  the  air,  as  well  as 
having  become  soft,  the  horse  drinks  freely  of  it  without  danger. 

If  the  horse  were  watered  three  times  a  day,  and  especially 
in  summer,  he  would  often  be  saved  from  the  sad  torture  of 
thirst,  and  from  many  a  disease.  "Whoever  has  observed  the 
eagerness  with  which  the  over-worked  horse,  hot  and  tired, 
plunges  his  muzzle  into  the  pail,  and  the  difficulty  of  stop- 
ping him  until  he  has  drained  the  last  drop,  may  form  some 
idea  of  what  he  had  previously  suffered,  and  will  not  won- 
der at  the  violent  spasms,  and  inflammation,  and  sudden 
death  that  often  result.  There  is  a  prejudice  in  the  minds  of 
many  persons  against  the  horse  being  fully  supplied  with  water. 
They  think  that  it  injures  his  wind,  and  disables  him  for  quick 
and  hard  work.  If  he  is  galloped,  as  he  too  often  is,  immedi- 
ately after  drinking,  his  wind  may  be  irreparably  injured ;  but 
if  he  were  oftener  suffered  to  satiate  his  thirst  at  the  intervals 
of  rest  he  would  be  happier  and  better.  It  is  a  fact  unsuspect- 
ed by  those  who  have  not  carefully  observed  the  horse,  that 
if  he  has  frequent  access  to  water  he  will  not  drink  so  much 
in  the  course  of  the  day  as  another  will  do,  who,  to  cool  his 
parched  mouth,  swallows  as  fast  as  he  can  and  knows  not 
when  to  stop. 

On  a  journey  a  horse  should  be  liberally  supplied  with 


THE   liunsE.  35 

water.  When  he  is  a  little  cooled,  two  or  three  quarts  may  be 
given  to  -him,  and  after  that  his  feed.  Before  he  has  finished 
his  corn,  two  or  three  quarts  more  may  be  offered.  He  will 
take  no  harm  if  this  is  repeated  three  or  four  times  during  a  long 
and  hot  day.* 

VII.-GENERAL  MANAGEMENT. 

1.  Air. — We  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  ventilation. 
Hear  what  that  great  authority,  Youatt,  says : 

"If  the  stable  is  close,  the  air  will  not  only  be  hot  but  foul. 
The  breathing  of  every  animal  contaminates  it ;  and  when  in 
the  course  of  the  night,  with  every  aperture  stopped,  it  passes 
again  and  again  through  the  lungs,  the  blood  can  not  undergo 
its  proper  and  healthy  change ;  digestion  will  not  be  so  per- 
fectly performed,  and  all  the  functions  of  life  are  injured.  Let 
the  owner  of  a  valuable  horse  think  of  his  passing  twenty  or 
twenty-two  out  of  the  twenty-four  hours  in  this  debilitating 
atmosphere !  Nature  does  wonders  in  enabling  every  animal 
to  accommodate  itself  to  the  situation  in  which  it  is  placed, 
and  the  horse  that  lives  in  the  stable-oven  suffers  less  from  it 
than  would  scarcely  be  conceived  possible :  but  he  does  not, 
and  can  not,  possess  the  power  and  the  hardihood  which  he 
would  acquire  under  other  circumstances. 

"  The  air  of  the  improperly  close  and  heated  stable  is  still 
further  contaminated  by  the  urine  and  dung,  which  rapidly 
ferment  there,  and  give  out  stimulating  and  unwholesome 
vapors.  When  a  person  first  enters  an  ill-managed  stable,  and 
especially  early  in  the  morning,  he  is  annoyed  not  only  by  the 
heat  of  the  confined  air,  but  by  a  pungent  smell,  resembling 
hartshorn;  and  can  he  be  surprised  at  the  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  chronic  cough,  and  the  disease  of  the  lungs,  by 
which  the  animal,  who  has  been  all  night  shut  up  in  this  vitia- 
ted atmosphere,  is  often  attacked;  or  if  glanders  and  farcy 
should  occasionally  break  out  in  such  stables  ?  It  has  been 
ascertained  by  chemical  experiment  that  the  urine  of  the  horse 

*  Yoyatt. 


36  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

contains  in  it  an  exceedingly  large  quantity  of  hartshorn ;  and 
not  only  so,  but  that,  influenced  by  the  heat  of  a'  crowded 
stable,  and  possibly  by  other  decompositions  that  are  going  for- 
ward at  the  same  time,  this  ammoniacal  vapor  begins  to  be 
rapidly  given  out  almost  immediately  after  the  urine  is  voided." 

2.  Litter. — The  facts  just  stated  in  reference  to  the  plenti- 
ful escape  of  ammoniacal  gas  from  the  urine,  show  the  necessity 
of  frequently  removing  the  litter  which  is  soon  saturated  with 
it.    It  rapidly  putrefies,  emitting  noisome  odors  and  contami- 
nating the  air.     Everything  hastening  decomposition  should  be 
carefully  removed  where  life  and  health  are  to  be  preserved. 
Litter  that  has  been  much  wetted  and  has  begun  to  decay 
should  be  swept  out  every  morning. 

No  heap  of  fermenting  dung  should  be  suffered  to  remain 
during  the  day  in  the  corner  or  any  part  of  the  stable. 

3.  Grooming. — Of  this  little  need  be  said  to  the  farmer  in 
reference  to  his  working  horses,  since  custom,  and  apparently 
without  ill  effect,  has  allotted  to  them  so  little  of  the  comb 
and  brush.     "  The  animal  that  is  worked  all  day  and  turned 
out  at  night,"  Youatt  says,  "  requires  little  more  to  be  done  to 
him  than  to  have  the  dirt  brushed  off  his  limbs.      Regular 
grooming,  by  rendering  his  skin  more  sensible  to  the  alteration 
of  temperature  and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  would  be 
prejudicial.     The  horse  that  is  altogether  turned  out,  needs  no 
grooming.     The  dandruff  or  scurf,  which  accumulates  at  the 
roots  of  the  hair,  is  a  provision  of  nature  to  defend  him  from 
the  wind  and  the  cold. 

"  It  is  to  the  stabled  horse,  highly  fed  and  little  or  irreg- 
ularly worked,  that  grooming  is  of  so  much  consequence. 
Good  rubbing  with  the  brush  or  the  curry-comb  opens  the 
pores  of  the  skin,  circulates  the  blood  to  the  extremities  of 
the  body,  produces  free  and  healthy  perspiration,  arid  stands  in 
the  room  of  exercise.  No  horse  will  carry  a  fine  coat  without 
either  unnatural  heat  or  dressing.  They  both  effect  the  same 
purpose;  they  both  increase  the  insensible  perspiration;  but 
the  first  does  it  at  the  expense  of  health  and  strength,  while 


THE  HOKSE.  37 

the  second,  at  the  same  time  that  it  produces  a  glow  on  the 
skin  and  a  determination  of  blood  to  it,  rouses  all  the  energies 
of  the  frame.  It  would  be  well  for  the  proprietor  of  the  horse 
if  he  were  to  insist — and  to  see  that  his  orders  are  really  obeyed 
— that  the  fine  coat  in  which  he  and  his  groom  so  much  delight 
is  produced  by  honest  rubbing,  and  not  by  a  heated  stable  and 
thick  clothing,  and,  most  of  all,  not  by  stimulating  or  injurious 
spices.  The  horse  should  be  regularly  dressed  every  day,  in 
addition  to  the  grooming  that  is  necessary  after  work. 

"  When  the  weather  will  permit  the  horse  to  be  taken  out, 
he  should  never  be  groomed  in  the  stable,  unless  he  is  an 
animal  of  peculiar  value,  or  placed  for  a  time  under  peculiar 
circumstances.  Without  dwelling  on  the  want  of  cleanliness, 
when  the  scurf  and  dust  that  are  brushed  from  the  horse  lodge 
in  his  manger  and  mingle  with  his  food,  experience  teaches, 
that  if  the  cold  is  not  too  great,  the  animal  is  braced  and  invig- 
orated to  a  degree  that  can  not  be  attained  in  the  stable,  from 
being  dressed  in  the  open  air.  There  is  no  necessity,  however, 
for  half  the  punishment  which  many  a  groom  inflicts  upon  the 
horse  in  the  act  of  dressing ;  and  particularly  on  one  whose 
skin  is  thin  and  sensible.  The  curry-comb  should  at  all  times 
be  lightly  applied.  With  many  horses,  its  use  may  be  almost 
dispensed  with ;  and  even  the  brush  needs  not  to  be  so  hard, 
nor  the  points  of  the  bristles  so  irregular,  as  they  often  are. 
A  soft  brush,  with  a  little  more  weight  of  the  hand,  will  be 
equally  effectual  and  a  great  deal  more  pleasant  to  the  horse. 
A  hair-cloth,  while  it  will  seldom  irritate  and  tease,  will  be 
almost  sufficient  with  horses  that  have  a  thin  skin,  and  that 
have  not  been  neglected.  After  all,  it  is  no  slight  task  to  dress 
a  horse  as  it  ought  to  be  done.  It  occupies  no  little  time,  and 
demands  considerable  patience  as  well  as  dexterity.  It  will  be 
readily  ascertained  whether  a  horse  has  been  well  dressed,  by 
rubbing  him  with  one  of  the  fingers.  A  greasy  stain  will  detect 
the  idleness  of  the  groom.  When,  however,  the  horse  is  chang- 
ing his  coat,  both  the  curry-comb  and  the  brush  should  be 
used  as  lightly  as  possible. 


38  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

"  Whoever  would  be  convinced  of  the  benefit  of  friction  to 
the  horse's  skin  and  to  the  horse  generally,  needs  only  to  ob- 
serve the  effects  produced  by  well  hand-rubbing  the  legs  of  a 
tired  horse.  While  every  enlargement  subsides,  and  the  pain- 
ful stiffness  disappears,  and  the  legs  attain  their  natural  warmth 
and  become  fine,  the  animal  is  evidently  and  rapidly  reviving ; 
he  attacks  his  food  with  appetite,  and  then  quietly  lies  down 
to  rest." 

4.  Exercise. — Of  this  the  farm  horse  generally  has  enough. 
His  work  is  tolerably  regular,  not  exhausting,  and  he  generally 
maintains  his  health  and  has  his  life  prolonged  to  an  extent 
rare  among  horses  of  "  leisure."  But  a  gentleman's  or  a  trades- 
man's horse  suffers  a  great  deal  more  from  idleness  than  he 
does  from  work.  A  stable-fed  horse  should  have  two  hours' 
exercise  every  day,  if  he  is  to  be  kept  free  from  disease.  Noth- 
ing of  extraordinary,  or  even  of  ordinary,  labor  can  be  effected 
on  the  road  or  in  the  field  without  sufficient  and  regular  exercise. 
It  is  this  alone  which  can  give  energy  to  the  system  or  devel- 
ope  the  powers  of  any  animal.  The  animal  that,  with  the 
usual  stable  feeding,  stands  idle  for  three  or  four  days,  as  is  the 
case  in  many  establishments,  must  suffer.  He  is  predisposed  to 
fever,  or  to  grease,  or,  most  of  all,  to  diseases  of  the  foot ;  and 
if,  after  three  or  four  days  of  inactivity  he  is  ridden  far  and 
fast  he  is  almost  sure  to  have  inflammation  of  the  lungs  or  of 
the  feet. 

YIII  —VICES  AND  BAD  HABITS. 

The  vices  and  bad  habits  of  the  horse,  like  those  of  his  mas- 
ter, are  oftener  than  otherwise  the  consequence  of  a  faulty  ed- 
ucation. We  are  convinced  that  innately  vicious  horses  are 
comparatively  few.  We  condense  from  Youatt  the  following 
hints  on  this  subject. 

1.  Restiveness. — At  the  head  of  all  the  vices  of  the  horse  is 
restiveness,  the  most  annoying  and  the  most  dangerous  of  all. 
It  is  the  produce  of  bad  temper  and  worse  education;  and, 
like  all  other  habits  founded  on  nature  and  stamped  by  edu- 
cation, it  is  inveterate.  Whether  it  appears  in  the  form  of 


THE   HOKSE.  39 

kicking  or  rearing,  plunging  or  bolting,  or  in  any  way  that 
threatens  danger  to  the  rider  or  the  horse,  it  rarely  admits  of 
cure.  A  determined  rider  may,  to  a  certain  extent,  subjugate 
the  animal ;  or  the  horse  may  have  his  favorites,  or  form  his 
attachments,  and  with  some  particular  person  he  may  be  com- 
paratively or  perfectly  manageable ;  but  others  can  not  long 
depend  upon  him,  and  even  his  master  is  not  always  sure  of 
him. 

2.  Backing  or  Balking. — Some  horses  have  the  habit  of 
backing  at  first  starting,  and  that  more  from  playfulness  than 
desire  of  mischief.     A  moderate  application  of  the  whip  will 
usually  be  effectual.     Others,  even  after  starting,  exhibit  con- 
siderable  obstinacy  and  viciousness.     This   is   frequently  the 
effect  of  bad  breaking. 

A  large  and  heavy  stone  should  be  put  behind  the  wheel  be- 
fore starting,  when  the  horse,  finding  it  more  difficult  to  back 
than  to  go  forward,  will  gradually  forget  this  unpleasant  trick. 
It  will  likewise  be  of  advantage  as  often  as  it  can  be  managed, 
so  to  start  that  the  horse  shall  have  to  back  up-hill.  The  dif- 
ficulty of  accomplishing  this  will  soon  make  him  readily  go 
forward.  A  little  coaxing  or  leading  will  assist  in  accomplish- 
ing the  cure. 

3.  Biting. — This  is  perhaps  sometimes  the  consequence  of 
natural  ferocity,  but  is  more  frequently  acquired  from  the  fool- 
ish teasing  play  of  hostlers  and  stable-boys.     At  first  his  biting 
is  half  playful  and  half  in  earnest,  but  finally  becomes  habitual 
and  degenerates  into  absolute  viciousness.     It  is  seldom  that 
anything  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  cure.     Kindness  will  aggra- 
vate the  evil  and  no  degree  of  severity  will  correct  it.     "I  have 
seen,"  Professor  Stuart  says,  "biters  punished  until  they  trem- 
bled in  every  joint  and  were  ready  to  drop,  but  have  never  in 
any  case  known  them  cured  by  this  treatment  or  by  any  other. 
The  lash  is  forgotten  in  an  hour,  and  the  horse  is  as  ready  and 
determined  to  repeat  the  offense  as  before.     He  appears  unable 
to  resist  the  temptation,  and  in  its  worst  form  biting  is  a  spe- 
cies of  insanity." 


40  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

But  if  biting  can  not  be  cured  it  may  almost  always  be  pre- 
vented, and  every  proprietor  of  horses,  while  he  insists  upon 
gentle  and  humane  treatment  of  his  animals,  should  strictly 
forbid  this  horse-play. 

4.  Kicking. — This,  as  a  vice,  is  another  consequence  of  the 
culpable  habit  of  grooms  and  stable-boys  of  teasing  the  horse. 
That  which  is  at  first  an  indication  of  annoyance  at  the  pinch- 
ing and  tickling  of  the  groom,  and  without  any  design  to  injure, 
gradually  becomes  the  expression  of  anger,  and  the  effort  to  do 
mischief.     The  horse,  likewise,  too  soon  recognizes  the  least 
appearance  of  timidity,  and  takes  advantage  of  the  discovery. 
There  is  no  cure  for  this  vice  after  it  has  become  a  confirmed 
habit,  and  he  can  not  be  justified  who  keeps  a  kicking  horse 
in  his  stable.     Before  the  habit  is  inveterately  established,  a 
thorn-bush  or  a  piece  of  furze  fastened  against  the  partition  or 
post  will  sometimes  effect  a  cure.     When  the  horse  finds  that 
he  is  pretty  severely  pricked  he  will  not  long  continue  to 
punish  himself. 

5.  Rearing. — This  sometimes  results  from  playfulness,  car- 
ried, indeed,  to  an  unpleasant  and  dangerous  extent ;  but  it  is 
oftener  a  desperate  and  occasionally  successful  effort  to  unhorse 
the  rider,  and  consequently  a  vice.     The  horse  that  has  twice 
decidedly  and  dangerously  reared  should  never    be  trusted 
again,  unless,  indeed,  it  was  the  fault  of  the  rider,  who  had 
been  using  a  deep  curb  and  a  sharp  bit.     Some  of  the  best 
horses  will  contend  against  these,  and  then  rearing  may  be 
immediately  and  permanently,  cured  by  using  a  snaffle  bridle 
alone. 

6.  Running  Away. — There  is  no  certainty  of  cure  for  this 
vice.     The  only  method  which  affords  any  probability  of  suc- 
cess is,  to  ride  or  drive  such  a  horse  with  a  strong  curb  and 
sharp  bit;  to  have  him  always  firmly  in  hand;  and  if  he  will 
run  away  and  the  place  will  admit  of  it,  to  give  him  (sparing 
neither  curb  nor  whip)  a  great  deal  more  running  than  he  likes. 

7.  Overreaching. — This  unpleasant  noise,  known  also  by  the 
term  "clicking,"  arises  from  the  toe  of  the  hind-foot  knocking 


THE   HORSE.  41 

against  the  shoe  of  the  fore-foot.  If  the  animal  is  young,  the 
action  of  the  horse  may  be  materially  improved ;  otherwise 
nothing  can  be  done,  except  to  keep  the  toe  of  the  hind-foot  as 
short  and  as  round  as  it  can  safely  be,  and  to  bevel  off  and  round 
the  toe  of  the  shoe,  like  that  which  has  been  worn  off  by  a 
stumbling  horse,  and,  perhaps,  to  lower  the  heel  of  the  fore-foot 
a  little. 

8.  Rolling. — Some  horses  have  the  habit  of  rolling  in  the 
stable,  by  which  they  are  liable  to  get  cast,  bruised,  and  half 
strangled.     The  only  remedy  is  to  tie  such  a  horse  with  just 
length  of  halter  enough  to  lie  down,  but  not  allow  of  his  resting 
his  head  on  the  ground.     This  is  an  unpleasant  means  of  cure, 
and  not  always  a  safe  one. 

9.  Shying. — This  vice  is  often  the  result  of  cowardice,  or 
playfulness,  or  want  of  work,  but  at  other  times  it  is  the  con- 
sequence of  a  defect  of  sight ;  and  in  its  treatment  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  distinguish  between  these  different  causes.     For 
the  last,  every  allowance  must  be  made,  and  care  must  be  t#ken 
that  the  fear  of  correction  is  not  associated  with  the  imagined 
existence  of  some  terrifying  object.     The  severe  use  of  the  whip 
and  the  spur  can  not  do  good  here,  and  are  likely  to  aggravate 
the  vice  ten-fold.     A  word  half  encouraging  and  half  scolding 
will  tell  the  horse  that  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  and  will  give 
him  confidence  in  his  rider  on  a  future  occasion. 

The  shying  from  skittishness  or  affectation  is  quite  a  different 
affair,  and  must  be  conquered :  but  how  ?  Severity  is  altogether 
out  of  place.  If  he  is  forced  into  contact  with  the  object  by 
dint  of  correction,  the  dread  of  punishment  will  afterward  be 
associated  with  that  object,  and  on  the  next  occasion  his  start- 
ings  will  be  more  frequent  and  more  dangerous.  The  way  to 
cure  him  is  to  go  on,  turning  as  little  as  possible  out  of  the  road, 
giving  a  harsh  word  or  two  and  a  gentle  touch,  and  then  taking 
no  more  notice  of  the  matter.  After  a  few  times,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  object  which  he  chose  to  select  as  the  pre- 
tended cause  of  affright,  he  will  pass  it  almost  without  notice. 

10.  Slipping  the  Halter. — Many  horses  are  so  clever  at  this 


42  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

trick  that  scarcely  a  night  passes  without  their  getting  loose. 
It  is  a  habit  which  may  lead  to  dangerous  results,  and  should  be 
cured  at  once  by  some  extra  means  of  securing  the  halter  in  its 
place,  or  by  a  strap  attached  to  it  and  buckled  securely  (but 
not  tight  enough  to  be  a  serious  inconvenience),  around  the 
neck. 

11.  Tripping. — He  must  be  a  skillful  practitioner  or  a  mere 
pretender  who  promises  to  remedy  this  habit.  If  it  arises  from 
a  heavy  fore-hand  and  the  fore-legs  being  too  much  under  the 
horse,  no  one  can  alter  the  natural  frame  of  the  animal ;  if  it 
proceeds  from  tenderness  of  the  foot,  grogginess,  or  old  lameness, 
these  ailments  are  seldom  cured.  Also,  if  it  is  to  be  traced  to 
habitual  carelessness  and  idleness,  no  whipping  will  rouse  the 
drone.  A  known  stumbler  should  never  be  ridden  or  driven 
by  any  one  who  values  his  safety  or  his  life. 

If  the  stumbler  has  the  foot  kept  as  short  and  the  toe  pared 
as  close  as  safety  will  permit,  and  the  shoe  is  rounded  at  the 
toe,  or  has  that  shape  given  to  it  which  it  naturally  acquires  in 
a  fortnight  from  the  peculiar  action  of  such  a  horse,  the  animal 
may  not  stumble  quite  so  much ;  or  if  the  disease  which  pro- 
duced the  habit  can  be  alleviated,  some  trifling  good  may  be 
done,  but  in  almost  every  case  a  stumbler  should  be  got  rid  of, 
or  put  to  slow  and  heavy  work.  If  the  latter  alternative  is 
adopted,  he  may  trip  as  much  as  he  pleases,  for  the  weight  of 
the  load  and  the  motion  of  the  other  horses  will  keep  him  upon 
his  legs. 

IX.— HINTS  TO  BUYERS. 

1.  Warranty. — A  man  should  have  a  more  perfect  knowledge 
of  horses  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  men,  and  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  the  seller  also,  who  ventures  to  buy  a  horse  without  a 
warranty.  This  warranty  is  usually  embodied  in  the  receipt, 
which  may  be  expressed  as  follows  : 

Received  at  Louisville,  August  10th,  1858,  from  C.  D.,  one  hundred  dollars 
for  a  gray  horse  warranted  only  five  years  old,  sound,  free  from  vice,  and  quiet 
to  ride  or  drive.  A.  V. 

"A  receipt,  including  merely  the  word   'warranted,'   ex- 


THE   HORSE.  43 

tends  only  to  soundness ;  '  warranted  sound'  goes  no  further ; 
the  age,  freedom  from  vice,  and  quietness  to  ride  and  drive, 
should  be  especially  named.  This  warranty  comprises  every 
cause  of  unsoundness  that  can  be  detected,  or  that  lurks  in  the 
constitution  at  the  time  of  sale,  and  to  every  vicious  habit  that 
the  animal  has  hitherto  shown.  To  establish  a  breach  of  war- 
ranty, and  to  be  enabled  to  tender  a  return  of  the  horse  and 
recover  the  difference  of  price,  the  purchaser  must  prove  that 
it  was  unsound  or  viciously  disposed  at  the  time  of  sale. 

"  No  price  will  imply  a  warranty  or  be  equivalent  to  one ; 
there  must  be  an  express  warranty.  A  fraud  must  be  proved 
in  the  seller,  in  order  that  the  buyer  may  be  enabled  to  return 
the  horse  or  maintain  an  action  for  the  price.  The  warranty 
should  be  given  at  the  time  of  sale.  A  warranty,  or  a  promise 
to  warrant  the  horse,  given  at  any  period  antecedent  to  the 
sale,  is  invalid ;  for  horse  flesh  is  a  very  perishable  commodity, 
and  the  constitution  and  usefulness  of  the  animal  may  undergo 
a  considerable  change  in  the  space  of  a  few  days.  A  warranty 
after  the  sale  is  invalid,  for  it  is  given  without  any  legal  con- 
sideration. In  order  to  complete  the  purchase,  there  must  be 
a  transfer  of  the  animal,  or  a  memorandum  of  agreement,  or 
the  payment  of  the  earnest-money.  The  least  sum  will  suffice 
for  earnest.  No  verbal  promise  to  buy  or  to  sell  is  binding 
without  one  of  these.  The  moment  either  of  these  is  effected, 
the  legal  transfer  of  property  or  delivery  is  made,  and  what- 
ever may  happen  to  the  horse,  the  seller  retains,  or  is  entitled 
to,  the  money.  If  the  purchaser  exercises  any  act  of  owner- 
ship, by  using  the  animal  without  leave  of  the  vender,  or  by 
having  any  operation  performed^  or  any  medicine  given  to  him, 
he  makes  him  his  own. 

"If  a  person  buys  a  horse  warranted  sound,  and  discovering 
no  defect  in  him,  and  relying  on  the  warranty,  re-sells  him, 
and  the  unsoundness  is  discovered  by  the  second  purchaser, 
and  the  horse  returned  to  the  first  purchaser,  or  an  action  com- 
menced against  him,  he  has  his  claim  on  the  first  seller,  and 
may  demand  of  him  not  only  the  price  of  the  horse,  or  the  dif- 


44  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

ference  in  value,  but  every  expense  that  may  have  been  in- 
curred. 

"  Absolute  exchanges  of  one  horse  for  another,  or  a  sum  of 
money  being  paid  in  addition  by  one  of  the  parties,  stand  on 
the  same  ground  as  simple  sales.  If  there  is  a  warranty  on 
either  side,  and  that  is  broken,  an  action  may  be  maintained : 
if  there  be  no  warranty,  deceit  must  be  proved." 

2.  What  constitutes  Unsoundnessf — "  That  horse  is  sound  in 
whom  there  is  no  disease,  and  no  alteration  of  structure  that 
impairs  or  is  likely  to  impair  his  natural  usefulness.  The  horse 
is  unsound  that  labors  under  disease,  or  has  some  alteration  of 
structure  which  does  interfere,  or  is  likely  to  interfere,  with 
his  natural  usefulness.  The  term  '  natural  usefulness1  must 
be  borne  in  mind.  One  horse  may  possess  great  speed,  but  is 
soon  knocked  up ;  another  will  work  all  day,  but  can  not  be 
got  beyond  a  snail's  pace ;  a  third  with  a  heavy  fore-hand  is 
liable  to  stumble,  and  is  continually  putting  to  hazard  the  neck 
of  his  rider ;  another,  with  an  irritable  constitution  and  a  loose, 
washy  form,  loses  his  appetite  and  begins  to  scour  if  a  little 
extra  work  is  exacted  from  him.  The  term  unsoundness  must 
not  be  applied  to  either  of  these  ;  it  would  be  opening  far  too 
widely  a  door  to  disputation  and  endless  wrangling.  The  buy- 
er can  discern,  or  ought  to  know,  whether  the  form  of  the 
horse  is  that  which  will  render  him  likely  to  suit  his  purpose, 
and  he  should  try  him  sufficiently  to  ascertain  his  natural 
strength,  endurance,  and  manner  of  going.  Unsoundness,  we 
repeat,  has  reference  only  to  disease,  or  to  that  alteration  of 
structure  which  is  connected  with,  or  will  produce,  disease  and 
lessen  the  usefulness  of  the  animal."* 

*  Touatt. 


THE  Ass   AND   THE  MULE. 


II. 

THE    ASS    AND    THE    MULE. 

0,  that  I  had  been  writ  down  an  ass  !— Dogberry. 

I.— THE  ASS. 

UFFON  lias  well  observed  that  the  ass  is  de- 
spised and  neglected  only  because  we  possess  a 
more  noble  and  powerful  animal  in  the  horse, 
and  that  if  the  horse  were  unknown,  and  the 
care  and  attention  that  we  lavish  upon  him 
were  transferred  to  his  now  neglected  and  despised  rival,  the 
latter  would  be  increased  in  size  and  developed  in  mental  qual- 
ities to  an  extent  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  anticipate,  but 
which  Eastern  travelers,  who  have  observed  both  animals  in 
their  native  climates,  and  among  nations  by  whom  they  are 
equally  valued,  and  the  good  qualities  of  each  justly  appreci- 
ated, assure  us  to  be  the  fact. 

The  character  and  habits  of  the  horse  and  the  ass  are  in 
many  respects  directly  opposed.  The  one  is  proud,  fiery,  im- 
petuous, nice  in  his  tastes,  and  delicate  in  his  constitution; 
subject,  like  a  pampered  menial,  to  many  diseases,  and  having 
many  wants  and  habits  unknown  in  a  state  of  nature.  The 
other,  on  the  contrary,  is  humble,  patient,  quiet,  and  hardy. 

For  food  the  ass  contents  himself  with  the  most  harsh  and 
disagreeable  herbs,  which  other  animals  will  scarcely  touch ; 
in  the  choice  of  water  he  is,  however,  very  nice,  drinking  only 
that  which  is  perfectly  clear,  and  at  brooks  with  which  he  is 
acquainted. 

The  qualities  of  the  ass  as  a  working  animal  are  almost  or 
quite  unknown  in  this  country,  but  in  other  lands  he  is  found 


46  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

very  serviceable  to  the  poor  who  are  not  able  to  buy  or  to  keep 
horses.  He  requires  very  little  care,  bears  correction  with 
firmness,  sustains  labor  and  hunger  with  patience,  and  is  sel- 
dom or  never  sick. 

The  varieties  of  the  ass,  in  countries  favorable  to  their  de- 
velopment, are  great.  In  Guinea  the  asses  are  large,  and  in 
shape  even  excel  the  native  horses.  The  asses  of  Arabia 
(Chardin  says)  are  perhaps  the  handsomest  animals  in  the 
world.  Their  coat  is  smooth  and  clean ;  they  carry  the  head 
elevated;  and  have  fine  and  well- formed  legs,  which  they 
throw  out  gracefully  in  walking  or  galloping.  In  Persia  also 
they  are  finely  formed,  some  being  even  stately,  and  much  used 
in  draught  and  for  carrying  burdens,  while  others  are  more 
lightly  proportioned,  and  used  for  the  saddle  by  persons  of 
quality ;  frequently  fetching  the  large  sum  of  400  livres ;  and 
being  taught  a  kind  of  ambling  pace,  are  richly  caparisoned 
and  used  by  the  rich  and  luxurious  nobles.* 

II.— THE  MULE. 

The  principal  objection  to  the  ass,  as  a  beast  of  burden,  being 
his  small  size,  the  ingenuity  of  man  early  devised  means  to 
remedy  this  defect  by  crossing  him  with  the  horse ;  thus  pro- 
ducing an  intermediate  animal  with  the  size  and  strength  of 
the  latter,  and  the  patience,  hardiness,  and  sure-footedness  of 
the  former. 

The  mule  is  the  offspring  of  the  ass  and  the  mare,  or  the 
female  ass  and  the  horse.  In  the  latter  case  the  produce  is 
called  a  jennet,  and  is  much  less  hardy,  and  therefore  rarely 
bred. 

Mules  are  much  used  in  warm  climates,  where  they  are  pre- 
ferred to  horses  for  many  purposes.  They  are  very  numerous 
in  our  Southern  States  and  not  uncommon  in  the  Middle  and 
"Western  States. 

Kentucky  is  the  great  mule-breeding  State.     Many  thou- 

*  Blame's  Encyclopedia  of  Kural  Sports. 


THE   Ass   AND   THE  MULE.  47 

sands  are  annually  raised  there  for  the  New  York  and  Southern 
markets.  A  correspondent  of  the  American  Veterinary  Jour- 
nal says: 

"  The  mule  trade  is  one  of  the  largest  of  Kentucky,  and  af- 
fords one  of  her  chief  sources  of  revenue.  The  mule  is  fed  from 
weaning  time  (which  is  generally  at  the  age  of  five  or  six 
months)  to  the  full  extent  of  its  capacity  to  eat,  and  that, 
too,  on  oats  and  corn,  together  with  hay  and  fodder.  In  lieu 
of  the  long  food,  soiling  is  usually  adopted  in  the  summer,  as 
they  are  kept  confined  in  a  pound  or  paddock,  containing  an 
acre  or  two  of  ground,  which  is  usually  partially  shaded,  in 
herds  of  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty.  In  this  way 
they  are  kept  until  the  fall  after  they  are  two  years  old,  receiv- 
ing a  sort  of  forcing  hot-house  treatment.  At  this  age  they 
are  taken  to  the  Southern  market,  not  always  by  the  feeder, 
but  more  generally  by  the  speculator  or  trader ;  there  they  are 
sold  to  the  planter  entirely  unbroken.  The  planters  are  too 
cautious  to  buy  a  broken  mule,  lest  it  should  prove  to  be  an  an- 
tiquated, broken-down  beast,  fattened  up  and  sold  for  a  young 
one — as  it  is  more  difficult  to  judge  of  his  age  than  that  of  a 
horse.  The  external  marks  of  time  and  service  are  not  gener- 
ally so  apparent  upon  him.  But  it  is  a  small  job  to  break  a 
mule.  It  is  only  necessary  to  have  a  steady  horse  to  work  him, 
with  a  second  hand  to  drive  him  an  hour  or  two  to  keep  him 
up,  after  which  he  is  considered  ready  for  any  service  that  the 
farmer  may  require  of  him.  He  may  kick  once  or  twice,  but 
is  unlike  the  spirited  horse,  who  when  he  commences  is  apt  to 
kick  himself  out  of  the  harness  before  he  stops. 

"  Persons  who  have  tried  them  on  the  farm  are  pleased  with 
them.  They  never  get  sick  and  rarely  get  lame,  will  do  as 
much  work  as  horses  which  will  cost  twice  as  much  money, 
and  at  the'  same  time  will  subsist  on  less  and  inferior  food  ;  for 
a  mule  will  work  very  well  on  wheat  straw  and  corn  shucks, 
whereas  the  horse  must  have  grain  as  well  as  a  good  allowance 
of  long  food.  They  are  better  for  our  servants  to  handle,  as 
they  can  stand  neglect  and  violent  treatment  better  than  the 


48 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


horse,  and  a  blemish,  such  as  the  loss  of  an  eye,  does  not 
impair  their  value  so  much  as  that  of  the  horse." 

To  have  large  and  handsome  mules,  the  mare  should  be  of  a 
xarge  breed  and  well  proportioned,  with  rather  small  limbs,  a 
moderate  sized  head,  and  a  good  forehead ;  and  the  ass  should 
be  of  the  large  Spanish  breed. 


CATTLE.  49 


III. 

CATTLE. 

The  noble,  patient  ox  and  gentle  cow 
Kind  usage  claim  ;  and  he's  a  brute  Indeed, 
Unworthy  of  companionship  with  them, 
Who  with  neglect  or  cruelty  repays 
The  debt  he  owes  their  race.—  Knox. 

I.— HISTORY 

F  the  ox  tribe  (Bovidce)  there  are  eight  species 
— the  ancient  hison  {Bos  urus) ;  the  bison  or 
American  buffalo  (B.  bison)',  the  musk  ox  (B. 
moschatus) ;  the  gayal  (B.  frontalis) ;  the  grunt- 
ing ox  (B.  grunniens) ;  the  buffalo  of  Southern 
Africa  (B.  caffer) ;  the  common  buffalo  (B.  bubulus) ;  and  the 
common  domestic  ox  (B.  taurus).  It  is  with  the  last  only  that 
we  have  to  do  in  the  present  work. 

The  ox  has  been  domesticated  and  in  the  service  of  man 
from  the  remotest  antiquity.  The  Bible  informs  us  that  cattle 
were  kept  by  the  early  descendants  of  Adam  (Gen.  iv.  20). 
That  their  value  has  been  duly  appreciated  in  all  ages  and  in 
all  climates,  is  shown  by  authentic  history.  Both  the  Hindoos 
and  the  Egyptians  placed  the  ox  among  their  deities ;  and  no 
quadruped  certainly  is  more  worthy  to  be  thus  exalted. 

The  parent  race  of  the  ox  is  supposed  by  some  to  have 
been  much  larger  than  any  of  the  present  varieties.  The  urus, 
in  his  wild  state  at  least,  was  an  enormous  and  fierce  animal, 
and  ancient  legends  have  thrown  around  him  an  air  of  mys- 
tery. In  almost  every  part  of  the  continent  of  Europe  and  in 
England,  skulls,  evidently  belonging  to  cattle,  have  been  found 
far  exceeding  in  size  those  of  the  present  day  ;  but  these  may 
have  belonged  to  exceptional  individuals. 

3 


50  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

Of  the  original  race  of  British  cattle  no  satisfactory  descrip- 
tion occurs  in  any  ancient  author ;  but  it  is  believed  that,  with 
occasional  exceptions,  they  possessed  no  great  bulk  or  beauty. 
They  were  doubtless  numerous,  for  Cnssar  tells  us,  in  his  Com- 
mentaries, that  the  ancient  Britons  neglected  tillage  and  lived 
on  milk  and  flesh.  It  was  that  occupation  and  mode  of  life 
which  suited  their  state  of  society.  A  few  specimens  of  the 
pure  ancient  breed,  descendants  of  cattle  which  escaped  from 
their  masters  centuries  since  and  became  wild,  may  now  be 
seen  in  the  parks  of  gentlemen  in  England.  They  are  very 
wild,  and  are  said  to  be  untamable. 

The  breeds  of  cattle  in  England  are  remarkable  for  their 
numerous  varieties,  caused  by  the  almost  endless  crossings  of 
one  breed  with  another. 

The  breeds  of  cattle  now  found  in  America  are  all  derived 
from  Europe,  and  those  of  the  United  States  mainly  from  Eng- 
land. The  early  importations  were  of  inferior  grades,  as  the 
grand  improvements  in  British  cattle,  commenced  by  Bake- 
well,  date  back  no  farther  than  about  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. In  New  England  the  primitive  stock  is  believed  to  have 
undergone  considerable  improvement,  while  in  parts  of  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States  it  has  undoubtedly  deteriorated. 

II.— BREEDS. 

A  strict  classification  of  the  numerous  breeds  of  cattle  now 
existing  in  the  United  States  would  be  difficult.  Youatfc 
arranges  British  cattle  under  three  heads,  according  to  the  com- 
parative size  of  their  horns — the  Long  Horns,  the  Short  Horns, 
and  the  Middle  Horns.  These  classes  are  all  represented  here. 
The  prevailing  stock  of  the  Eastern  States  is  believed  to  be 
derived  from  the  Middle  Horns  or  North  Devons,  most  of  the 
excellent  marks  and  qualities  of  which  they  possess.  They 
have  frequently  been  called  the  American  Devons,  and  are 
highly  esteemed.  The  most  valuable  working  oxen  are  of  this 
breed,  which  also  contributes  largely  to  the  best  displays  of 
beef  found  in  the  markets  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bos- 


CATTLE.  51 

ton.  The  Long  Horns  or  Craven  cattle,  although  not  numer- 
ous, are  occasionally  met  with.  The  Short  Horns  are  of  more 
recent  introduction,  but  this  breed,  with  various  crosses,  is  now 
perhaps  the  predominant  one  of  the  country. 

It  will  be  profitable  to  speak  somewhat  in  detail,  although 
briefly,  of  the  several  breeds — at  least  the  more  prominent  ones 
— and  we  will  begin  with 

Fig.  IT. 


A  DEVON  BULL. 

1.  The  Devon  Breed. — This  is  a  handsome  and  valuable 
breed.  The  bull  should  have  yellow  horns;  clear,  bright,  and 
prominent  eyes;  small,  flat,  indented  forehead;  a  fine  muzzle  ; 
8i nail  cheek;  a  clear  yellow  nose  ;  a  high  and  open  nostril;  a 
thick  neck,  with  the  hair  about  the  head  curled;  a  straight 
back ;  and  be  well  set  upon  the  legs.  The  head  of  the  ox  is 
smaller,  otherwise  he  does  not  differ  materially  in  shape  from 


52 


DOMESTIC    ANIMALS. 


the  bull.     He  is  quicker  in  his  motions  than  any  other  ox,  and 
is  generally  docile,  good  tempered,  and  honest. 

The  cow  is  much  smaller  than  the  bull,  but  roomy  for  breed- 
ing, and  distinguished  for  her  clear,  round  eye  and  general  beau- 
ty of  features.  With  regard  to  the  comparative  value  of  the 
Devon  cows  for  the  dairy  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion, 
it  being  pretty  generally  asserted  that  their  acknowledged 
grazing  qualities  render  them  unfit  for  the  dairy,  and  that  their 
milk  is  rich  but  deficient  in  quantity.  Many  superior  judges, 

Fig.  18. 


A  DBVON  H 


however,  prefer  them  even  for  the  dairy.  Both  cows  and  oxen 
fatten  faster  and  with  less  food  than  most  others.*  In  color 
Devon  cattle  are  generally  red. 

Our  New  England  cattle,  as  we  have  said,  are  generally  de- 
rived from    this   breed.      Their   horns   are    moderately  long, 


*  Touatt 


CATTLE. 


53 


smooth,  and  slender,  and  their  prevailing  color  deep  red ;  but 
sometimes  they  are  dark  brown,  brindle,  or  nearly  black.  The 
oxen  are  remarkable  for  their  docility,  strength,  and  quickness, 
The  cows  are  fair  milkers.  Both  oxen  and  cows  fatten  readily. 
2.  The  Hereford  Breed.— Cattle  of  the  Hereford  breed  are 
larger  than  those  of  the  North  Devon.  They  are  broad  across 
the  hind-quarters ;  narrow  at  the  sirloin  ;  neck  and  head  well 

Fig.  19. 


THE  HEREFORD  BULL,  TROMP. 

proportioned;  horns  of  a  medium  size  and  turned  up  at  the 
points  ;  color  a  deep  red,  with  the  face,  throat,  and  belly  gener- 
ally white.  A  spirited  contest  has  been  kept  up  for  some  time 
between  the  partisans  of  the  Herefords  and  those  of  the  Short 
Horns,  both  here  and  in  England,  each  stoutly  maintaining  the 
superiority  of  their  favorite  breed.  We  are  not  disposed  to 
take  part  in  the  controversy.  The  experience  of  persons  not 


54:  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

engaged  in  breeding  either  sort  as  a  special  business  must  finally 
settle  it ;  in  the  mean  time,  candid  people  will  acknowledge  that 
both  are  excellent,  each  in  its  way. 

Youatt  says  that  the  Herefords  fatten  to  a  much  greater 
weight  than  the  Devons,  and  that  a  Hereford  cow  will  grow  fat 
where  a  Devon  would  starve.  They  are  very  hardy,  and  will 
do  well  with  only  the  same  care  required  by  our  native  breeds. 

3.  The  Sussex  Breed. — The  Sussex  ox  holds  an  intermediate 
place  between  the  Devon  and  the  Hereford  ;  with  much  of  the 
activity  of  the  first  and  the  strength  of  the  second,  and  the  pro- 
pensity to  fatten,  and  the  beautiful  fine-grained  flesh  of  both. 
Experience  has  shown  that  it  combines  as  many  of  the  good 
qualities  of  both  as  can  be  combined  in  one  frame.     The  Sus- 
sex cow  does  not  answer  for  the  dairy,  her  milk,  although  of 
good  quality,  is  so  small  in  quantity  that  she  is  little  regarded 
for  making  butter  and  cheese.     The  prevailing  color  of  the 
Sussex  cattle  is  a  deep  chestnut  red.* 

4.  Ayrshire  Breed. — The  Ayrshire  breed,  which  is  considered 
the  most  valuable  in  Scotland,  is  of  the  small  size  and  middle- 
horned  race.    In  modern  times  it  has  been  much  improved.    Mr. 
Aiton,  in  his  Survey  of  Ayrshire,  thus  describes  this  fine  breed : 

"The  most  approved  shapes  in  the  dairy  breed  are,  small 
head,  rather  long  and  narrow  at  the  muzzle ;  eye  small,  but 
smart  and  lively ;  the  horns  small,  clear,  crooked,  and  their 
roots  at  considerable  distance  from  each  other ;  neck  long  and 
slender,  tapering  toward  the  head,  with  no  loose  skin  below ; 
shoulders  thin ;  fore-quarters  light ;  hind-quarters  large ;  back 
straight,  broad  behind  ;  the  joints  rather  loose  and  open  ;  car- 
cass deep,  and  pelvis  capacious  and  wide  over  the  hips,  with 
round,  fleshy  buttocks;  tail  long  and  small;  legs  small  and 
short,  with  firm  joints ;  udder  capacious,  broad,  and  square, 
stretching  forward,  and  neither  fleshy,  low  hung,  nor  loose; 
the  milk-veins  are  large  and  prominent ;  teats  short,  all  point- 
ing outward,  and  at  considerable  distance  from  each  other; 

*  Youatt 


CATTLE.  55 

skin  thin  and  loose;  hair  soft  and  woolly;  the  head,  bones, 
horns,  and  all  parts  of  least  value,  small ;  and  the  general  fig- 
ure compact  and  well  proportioned." 

"  The  qualities  of  a  cow,"  adds  Mr.  Aiton  in  another  place, 
"are  of  great  importance.  Tameness  and  docility  of  temper 
greatly  enhance  the  value  of  a  milch  cow.  Some  degree  of 
hardiness,  a  sound  constitution,  health,  and  a  moderate  degree 
of  spirits,  are  qualities  to  be  wished  for  in  a  dairy  cow,  and 
what  those  of  Ayrshire  generally  possess.  The  most  valuable 
qualities  which  a  dairy  cow  can  possess  are  that  she  yields 
much  milk,  and  that  of  an  oily,  butyraceous,  and  caseous  na- 
ture ;  and  that  after  she  has  yielded  very  large  quantities  of 
milk  for  several  years,  she  shall  be  as  valuable  for  beef  as  any 
( ther  breed  of  cows  known ;  her  fat  shall  be  much  more  mixed 
through  the  whole  flesh,  and  she  shall  fatten  faster  than  any 
other." 

There  have  been  several  importations  of  Ayrshires  into  the 
United  States,  but  they  have,  up  to  the  present  time,  failed  to 
establish  themselves  in  general  favor. 

5.  Welsh  Cattle—" The  cattle  of  Wales  are  principally  of 
the  Middle  Horns,  and  stunted  in  their  growth  from  the  poverty 
of  their  pastures.     Of  these  there  are  several  varieties.     The 
Pembrokeshire  are  chiefly  black,  with  white  horns ;  are  shorter 
legged  than  most  other  Welsh  cattle  ;  are  larger  than  those  of 
Montgomery,  and  have  round  and  deep  carcasses ;  have  a  lively 
look  and  good  eyes ;  though  short  and  rough,  not  thick ;  have 
not  large  bones,  and  possess,  perhaps,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
opposite  qualities  of  being  very  fair  milkers,  with  a  propensity 
to  fatten.     The  meat  is  equal  to  the  Scotch.     They  will  thrive, 
says  Mr.  Youatt,  where  others  starve,  and  they  rapidly  outstrip 
most  others  when  they  have  plenty  of  good  pasture.     The  Pem- 
broke cow  has  been  called  the  poor  man's  cow.     The  Pembroke 
ox  is  a  speedy  and  an  honest  worker,  and  when  taken  from  hard 
work  fattens  speedily.    Many  are  brought  to  London,  and  rarely 
disappoint  the  butcher." 

6.  Irish  Cattle.— Of  the  Irish  cattle  there  are  two  breeds— 


56  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

the  Middle  Horns  and  the  Long  Horns.  The  Middle  Horns  are 
the  original  breed.  "They  are,"  Mr.  Youatt  says,  "small, 
light,  active,  and  wild ;  the  head  commonly  small ;  the  horns 
short  but  fine,  rather  upright,  and  frequently,  after  projecting 
forward,  turning  backward  ;  somewhat  deficient  in  hind-quar- 
ters ;  high-boned,  and  wide  over  the  hips,  yet  the  bone  not 
commonly  heavy  ;  the  hair  coarse  and  long,  black  or  brindled, 
with  white  faces.  Some  are  finer  in  the  bone  and  in  the  neck, 
with  a  good  eye  and  sharp  muzzle,  and  great  activity;  are 
hardy,  live  upon  very  scanty  fare,  and  fatten  with  great  rapidity 
when  removed  to  a  better  soil ;  they  are  good  milkers.  The 
Kerry  cows  are  excellent  in  this  respect.  These  last,  however, 
are  wild  and  remarkable  leapers.  They  live,  however,  upon 
very  little  food,  and  have  often  been  denominated,  like  those  of 
Pembroke,  the  poor  man's  cow." 

The  other  breed  is  of  a  larger  size.  It  has  much  of  the  blood 
of  the  Lancashire  or  Craven  breed,  or  true  Long  Horn.  Their 
horns  first  turn  outward,  then  curve  and  turn  inward.  Of 
each  of  these  kinds,  an  immense  number  of  both  lean  and  fat 
stock  are  annually  exported  to  England. 

7.  The  Long  Horns. — The  Long  Horns  of  England  came 
originally  from  Craven,  in  Yorkshire,  and  derived  their  name 
from  the  length  of  their  horns. 

"  The  improved  breed  of  Leicestershire  is  said  to  have  been 
formed  by  Webster,  of  Cauley,  near  Coventry,  in  Warwick- 
shire. Bakewell,  of  Dishley,  in  Leicestershire,  afterward  got 
the  lead  as  a  breeder,  by  selecting  from  the  Cauley  stock ;  and 
the  stocks  of  several  other  eminent  breeders  have  been  traced 
to  the  same  source. 

"The  Lancashire  breed  of  long-horned  cattle  may  be  distin- 
guished from  other  cattle  by  the  thickness  and  firm  texture  of 
their  hides,  the  length  and  closeness  of  their  hair,  the  large 
size  of  their  hoofs,  and  their  coarse,  leathery,  thick  necks. 
They  are  likewise  deeper  in  their  fore-quarters,  and  lighter  in 
their  hind-quarters  than  most  other  breeds ;  narrower  in  their 
shape,  less  in  point  of  weight  than  the  Short  Horns,  though 


CATTLE.  57 

better  weighers  in  proportion  to  their  size ;  and  though  they 
give  considerably  less  irilk,  it  is  said  to  yield  more  cream  in 
proportion  to  its  quantity.  They  are  more  varied  in  color 
than  any  other  breed ;  but  whatever  the  color  may  be,  they 
have  in  general  a  white  streak  along  their  back,  which  the 
breeders  termjinched,  and  mostly  a  white  spot  on  the  inside  of 
the  hough."* 

8.  The  Short  Horn  or  Durham  Breed. — Durham  and  York- 
Fig.  20. 


THE  SHORT-HORNED  BULL,  LORD  ERYHOLM. 

shire,  England,  have  for  ages  been  celebrated  for  a  breed  of 
short-horned  cattle  possessing  extraordinary  value  as  milkers, 
"  in  which  quality,"  the  Rev.  Henry  Barry  says,  "  taken  as  a 
breed,  they  have  never  been  equaled.  The  cattle  so  distin- 
guished were  always,  as  now,  very  different  from  the  improved 
race.  They  were  generally  of  large  size,  thin  skinned,  sleek 
haired,  bad  handlers,  rather  delicate  in  constitution,  coarse  in 

*  Culley. 

3* 


58  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

the  offal,  and  strikingly  defective  in  the  substance  of  girth  in 
the  fore-quarters.  As  milkers  they  were  most  excellent,  but 
when  put  to  fatten,  as  the  foregoing  description  will  indicate, 
were  found  slow  feeders,  producing  an  inferior  quality  of  meat, 
not  marbled  or  mixed  as  to  fat  and  lean ;  the  latter  sometimes 
of  a  very  dark  hue.  Such,  too,  are  the  unimproved  Short 
Horns  of  the  present  day." 

The  improved  Short  Horns  are  even  more  celebrated  as 
feeders  than  as  milkers,  and  in  other  respects  differ  widely  from 
the  original  breed. 

"The  colors  of  the  improved  Short  Horns,"  Mr.  Youatt  says, 
"  are  red  or  white,  or  a  mixture  of  both ;"  "no  pure  improved 
/Short  Horns,'1''  he  adds,  "are  found  of  any  other  color  but 
those  above  named.  That  the  matured  Short  Horns  are  an 
admirable  grazier's  breed  of  cattle  is  undoubted ;  they  are  not, 
however,  to  be  disregarded  as  milkers ;  but  they  are  inferior, 
from  their  fattening  qualities,  to  many  others  as  workers." 

Mr.  Dickson,  an  eminent  cattle  breeder,  thus  eloquently  de- 
scribes the  Short  Horn : 

"  The  external  appearance  of  the  short-horned  breed  is  irre- 
sistibly attractive.  The  exquisitely  symmetrical  form  of  the 
body  in  every  position,  bedecked  with  a  skin  of  the  richest 
hues  of  red,  and  the  richest  white  approaching  to  cream,  or 
both  colors,  so  arranged  or  commixed  as  to  form  a  beautiful 
fleck  or  delicate  roan,  and  possessed  of  the  mellowest  touch ; 
supported  on  clean,  small  limbs,  showing,  like  those  of  the  race- 
horse and  the  greyhound,  the  union  of  strength  with  fineness; 
and  ornamented  with  a  small,  lengthy,  tapering  head,  neatly 
set  on  a  broad,  firm,  deep  neck,  and  furnished  with  a  small 
muzzle,  wide  nostrils,  prominent,  mildly-beaming  eyes,  thin, 
large,  biney  ears  set  near  the  crown  of  the  head  and  protected 
in  front  with  semicircularly  bent,  white,  or  brownish  colored 
short  (hence  the  name),  smooth,  pointed  horns  ;  all  these  parts 
combine  to  form  a  symmetrical  harmony,  which  has  never  been 
surpassed  in  beauty  and  sweetness  by  any  other  species  of  the 
domesticated  ox." 


CATTLK.  59 

The  graziers  of  Kentucky  and  other  parts  of  the  West  have 
heretofore  shown  the  greatest  preference  for  the  Short  Horns, 
but,  in  their  case,  they  are  found  to  be  subject  to  one  serious 
objection.  It  is  this  :  while  they  take  on  fat  so  readily  when 
well  fed  and  become  so  heavy,  they  are  unable  to  retain  it 
during  the  long  journeys  to  the  Eastern  markets,  where  they 
generally  arrive  in  too  meager  a  condition  to  command  the 
price  of  fat  cattle.  They  require  some  breed  which  will  be 
able  to  carry  their  fat  along  with  them.* 

9.  The  Alder ney  or  Jersey  Breed. — This  breed  of  cattle  is 
from  Normandy  and  the  Isle  of  Jersey,  and,  although  small  and 
awkwardly  shaped,  are  much  esteemed  on  account  of  the  rich- 
ness of  their  milk,  of  which,  however,  the  quantity  is  small. 
English  noblemen  keep  Alderney  cows  in  their  parks  to  fur- 
nish cream  for  their  coffee. 

"When  dried,  the  Alderney  cow  fattens  with  a  rapidity  that 
would  hardly  be  thought  possible  from  her  gaunt  appearance. 
In  color,  the  Alderney  breed  is  light  red,  dun,  or  fawn  colored. 

10.  The  Galloway  Breed. — The  Galloway  breed  of  cattle  is 
well  known  for  various  valuable  qualities,  and  is  easily  distin- 
guished by  the  want  of  horns.     The  Galloways  are  broad  across 
the  back,  with  a  very  slight  curve  between  the  head  and  the 
quarters,  and  broad  at  the  loins,  the  whole  body  having  a  fine 
round  appearance.     The  head  is  of  moderate  size,  the  ears 
large  and  rough,  the  chest  deep,  and  the  legs  short.     The  pre- 
vailing color  is  black.     This  breed  is  highly  esteemed,  as  there 
is  no  other  kind  which  arrives  at  maturity  so  soon ;  and  their 
flesh  is  of  the  finest  quality.     Their  milk  is  very  fine,  but  is 
not  obtained  in  very  large  quantities.      It  is  estimated  that 
30,000  of  these  cattle  are  annually  sent  out  of  Galloway. 

Another  valuable  breed  of  polled  (or  hornless)  cows  is  bred 
in  Angus,  which  much  resemble,  in  appearance,  those  of  Gallo- 
way ;  they  are,  however,  rather  larger  and  longer  in  the  leg, 
flatter  sided,  and  with  thinner  shoulders. 

*  American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia. 


60  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

In  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  a  hornless  breed  of  cows  prevails, 
which  are  almost  all  descended  from  the  Galloways,  "  whose 
general  form,"  Mr.  Youatt  says,  "they  retain,  with  some  of, 
but  not  all,  their  excellences ;  they  have  been  enlarged,  but  not 
improved,  by  a  better  climate  and  soil.  They  are  commonly 
of  a  red  or  black  color,  with  a  peculiar  golden  circle  around 
the  eye.  They  are  taller  than  the  Galloways,  but  thinner  in 
the  chine,  flatter  in  the  ribs,  and  longer  in  the  legs;  rather 
better  milkers ;  of  greater  weight  when  fattened,  though  not 
fattening  so  kindly,  and  the  meat  is  not  quite  equal  in  quality." 

The  Suffolk  Dun  cow,  which  is  also  of  Galloway  descent,  is 
celebrated  as  a  milker,  and  there  is  little  doubt  is  not  inferior 
to  any  other  breed  in  the  quantity  of  milk  which  she  yields : 
this  is  from  six  to  eight  gallons  per  day.  The  butter  produced, 
however,  is  not  in  proportion  to  the  milk.  It  is  calculated  that 
a  Suffolk  cow  produces  annually  about  1£  cwt.  of  butter. 

The  Suffolk  Duns  derive  the  last  part  of  their  name  from 
their  usual  pale  yellow  color.  Many,  however,  are  red,  or  red 
and  white.  They  are  invariably  without  horns,  and  small  in 
size,  seldom  weighing  over  TOO  Ibs.  when  fattened.* 

11.  The  Cream-Pot  Breed. — This  is  an  American  breed,  and 
was  originated  by  Colonel  Jaques,  of  Ten  Hills  Farm,  Somer- 
ville,  Mass.  It  is  a  cross  between  the  Short  Horn  and  the  na- 
tive breed  of  New  England.  Mr.  Jaques  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  origin  of  this  famous  breed : 

"  Hearing  of  cows  that  produce  seventeen  pounds  of  butter 
each  per  week,  the  inquiry  arose,  why  not  produce  a  breed  of 
such  cows  that  may  be  depended  on  ?  This  I  attempted,  and 
have  accomplished.  I  have  made  from  one  of  my  Cream-Pot 
cows  nine  pounds  of  butter  in  three  days  on  grass  feed  only. 

"  The  bull  Coelebs,  an  imported  thorough-bred  Durham,  and 
Flora,  a  heifer  of  the  same  breed,  and  imported,  and  a  native 
cow,  whose  pedigree  is  entirely  unknown,  comprise  the  ele- 
ments of  the  Cream-Pot  breed  of  cattle.  The  native  cow  was 

*  American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia. 


CATTLE.  61 

bought  in  consequence  of  her  superior  quality  as  a  milker,  giv- 
ing eighteen  quarts  a  day,  and  averaging  about  fifteen.  In  the 
month  of  April  the  cream  of  two  days'  milk  produced  two  and 
three-fourths  pounds  of  butter,  made  of  two  and  one-sixteenth 
quarts  of  cream,  and  required  but  two  minutes'  churning.  Thus 
much  for  the  mother  of  the  Cream-Pots. 

"  I  have  bred  my  Cream-Pots  with  red  or  mahogany  colored 
hair  and  teats,  and  gold-dust  in  the  ears,  yellow  noses  and  skin, 
the  latter  silky  and  elastic  to  the  touch,  being  like  a  fourteen- 
dollar  cloth.  My  Cream-Pots  are  full  in  the  body,  chops  deep 
in  the  flank,  not  quite  as  straight  in  the  belly,  nor  as  full  in  the 
twist,  nor  quite  as  thick  in  the  thigh  as  the  Durhams;  but  in 
other  respects  like  them.  They  excel  in  affording  a  great 
quantity  of  rich  cream,  capable  of  being  converted  into  butter 
in  a  short  time,  with  little  labor,  and  with  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  buttermilk,  the  cream  producing  more  than  eighty  per 
cent,  of  butter.  I  have  changed  the  cream  to  butter  not  unfre- 
quently  in  one  minute,  and  it  has  been  done  in  forty  seconds." 

The  late  lamented  Henry  Colman.  while  Commissioner  for 
the  Agricultural  Survey  of  Massachusetts,  wrote  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Jaques  is  entitled  to  great  credit  for  his  care  and  judi- 
cious selection  in  continuing  and  improving  his  stock.  I  have 
repeatedly  seen  the  crearn  from  his  cows,  and  its  yellowness 
and  consistency  are  remarkable,  and  in  company  with  several 
gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  I  saw  a  portion  of  it  converted  to 
butter  with  a  spoon  in  one  minute.  The  color  of  Mr.  Jaques' 
stock  is  a  deep  red,  a  favorite  color  in  New  England ;  they  are 
well  formed  and  thrifty  on  common  feed ;  and  if  they  continue 
to  display  the  extraordinary  properties  by  which  they  are  now 
so  distinguished,  they  promise  to  prove  the  most  valuable  race 
of  animals  ever  known  among  us  for  dairy  purposes,  and  equal 
to  any  of  which  wre  have  any  information." 

III.-POINTS. 

Were  an  ox  of  fine  symmetry  and  high  condition  placed  be- 
fore a  person  not  a  judge  of  livestock,  his  opinion  of  its 


CATTLE.  63 

excellences  would  be  derived  from  a  very  limited  view,  and 
consequently  from  only  a  few  of  its  qualities.  He  could  not 
possibly  discover,  without  tuition,  those  properties  which  had 
chiefly  conduced  to  produce  the  high  condition  in  which  he 
saw  the  ox.  He  would  hardly  believe  that  a  judge  can  ascer- 
tain merely  by  the  eye,  from  its  general  aspect,  whether  the  ox 
were  in  good  or  bad  health ;  from  the  color  of  its  skin  whether 
it  were  of  a  pure  or  a  cross  breed ;  from  the  expression  of  its 
countenance  whether  it  were  a  quiet  feeder ;  and  from  the  na- 
ture of  its  flesh  whether  it  had  arrived  at  maturity.  The 
discoveries  made  by^the  hand  of  the  judge  might  even  stagger 
belief.  He  understands  the  "points"  of  cattle,  and  experience 
enables  him  to  appreciate  their  individual  and  aggregate  value. 
The  "  points"  by  which  cattle  are  characterized  may  profit- 
ably be  described  in  detail : 

1.  The  nose  or  muzzle  in  the  Durhams  or  Short  Horns  should 
be  of  a  rich  cream  color.     In  the  Devon,  Hereford,  and  Sussex  it 
is  preferred  when  a  clear  golden  color.     A  brown  or  dark  color 
indicates  a  cross. 

2.  The  forehead  should  be  neither  narrow  nor  very  broad. 
The  eye  should  be  prominent,  and  the  nostril  between  the  eye 
and  the  muzzle  thin,  particularly  in  the  Devons. 

3.  The  horns  should  be  small,  smooth,  tapering,  and  sharp 
pointed,  long  or  short,  according  to  the  breed,  and  of  a  white 
color  throughout  in  some  breeds,  and  tipped  with  black  in 
others.     The  shape  is  less  essential  than  the  color. 

4.  The  neck  should  be  of  medium  length,  full  at  the  sides,  not 
too  deep  in  the  throat,  and  should  come  out  from  the  shoulders 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  chine. 

5.  The  top  of  the  plate  bones  should  not  be  too  wide,  but, 
rising  on  a  level  with  the  chine,  should  be  well  thrown  back, 
so  that  there  may  be  no  hollowness  behind. 

6.  The  shoulder  point  should  lay  flat  with  the  ribs,  without 
any  projection. 

7.  The  breast  should  be  wide  and  open,  projecting  forward. 

8.  The  chine  should  lay  straight  and  be  well  covered  with  flesh. 


64  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

9.  The  loin  should  be  flat  and  wide ;  almost  as  wide  at  the 
fore  as  the  hinder  part. 

10.  The  hip  bones  should  be  wide  apart,  coming  upon  a  level 
with  the  chine  to  the  setting  of  the  tail. 

11.  The  Up  of  the  rump  should  be  tolerably  wide,  so  that 
the  tail  may  drop  to  a  level  between  the  two  points  ;  and  the 
tail  should  come  out  broad. 

12.  The  thigh  should  not  be  too  full  outside  nor  behind ; 
but  the  inside  or  twist  should  be  full. 

13.  The  back  should  be  flat  and  rather  thin. 

14.  The  hind  leg  should  be  flat  and  thin ;  the  legs  of  medium 
length,  and  the  hock  rather  turning  out. 

15.  The  feet  should  not  be  too  broad. 

16.  The  flank  should  be  full  and  heavy  when  the  animal  is  fat. 

17.  The  belly  should  not  drop  below  the  breast,  but  on  a  line 
with  it. 

18.  The  shoulder  should  be  rather  flat,  not  projecting. 

19.  The  fore  leg  should  also  be  flat  and  upright,  but  not  fleshy. 

20.  The  round  should  not  project,  but  be  flat  with  the  outside 
of  the  thigh. 

21.  The  jaws  should  be  rather  wide. 

22.  The  ribs  should  spring  nearly  horizontally  from  the  chine 
and  form  a  circle. 

23.  The  skin  should  be  loose,  floating,  as  it  were,  on  a  layer 
of  soft  fat,  and  covered  with  thick,  glossy,  soft  hair. 

24.  The  expression  of  the  eye  and  face  should  be  calm  and 
complacent. 

A  writer  in  the  Farmer's  Magazine,  a  number  of  years  ago, 
described  what  are  properly  considered  the  good  points  of  a 
cow,  as  exhibited  in  the  Short  Horn  breed,  in  the  following 
doggerel  lines : 

She's  long  in  her  face,  she's  fine  in  her  horn  ; 
She'll  quickly  get  fat  without  cake  or  corn  ; 
She's  clean  in  her  jaws,  and  full  in  her  chine; 
She's  heavy  in  flank,  and  wide  in  her  loin ; 
She's  broad  in  her  ribs,  and  long  in  her  rump  ; 
She's  straight  in  her  back,  with  never  a  hump  ; 


CATTLE.  65 

She's  wide  in  her  hip,  and  calm  in  her  eyes ; 
She's  fine  in  her  shoulders,  and  thin  in  her  thighs 
She's  light  in  her  neck,  and  small  in  her  tail ; 
She's  wide  in  her  breast,  and  good  at  the  pail ; 
She's  fine  in  her  bone,  and  silky  of  skin ; 
She's  a  grazier's  without,  and  a  butcher's  within. 

IV.— GENERAL  MANAGEMENT. 

1.  The  Cow-house. — The  cow-house  should  be  a  capacious, 
well-lighted,  and  well-ventilated  building,  in  which  the  cows 
or  oxen  can  be  kept  dry,  clean,  and  moderately  warm.  It  is  a 
mistaken  idea  that  cattle  suffer  materially  by  dry  cold.  It  is 
the  wet  and  the  damp  walls,  yard,  and  driving  rains  and  fogs 
of  winter,  that  are  so  injurious  to  them.  In  this  respect  the 
Dutch  farmers  are  very  particular.  They  have  their  cows 
regularly  groomed,  and  the  walks  behind  them  sprinkled  with 
sand.* 

As  a  general  thing,  our  farmers  pay  too  little  attention  to 
the  health  and  comfort  of  their  cattle,  and  especially  the  cows. 
In  many  cases  they  are  kept  in  a  shamefully  dirty  condition. 
The  floor  of  their  stalls  is  allowed  to  be  disgustingly  filthy,  the 
floors  and  walls  full  of  vermin,  and  the  hides  of  the  animals 
covered  with  dust  and  dung.  It  is  not  only  at  the  expense  of 
their  comfort  that  cattle  suffer  this  neglect,  but  to  the  farmer's 
loss  also.  When  you  see  a  cow  rubbing  herself  against  a  post, 
you  may  depend  upon  it  that  the  animal  is  ill  kept  and  requires 
a  good  scrubbing.  Cattle,  as  well  as  horses,  are  greatly  injured 
by  want  of  proper  attention  to  the  cleanliness  and  ventilation 
of  their  habitation.  They  should  stand  on  a  slightly  raised 
platform,  which  should  be  well  littered  with  straw,  refuse  hay, 
leaves,  sawdust,  or  some  other  dry  material. 

For  tying  up  cattle,  chains,  leather  straps,  wooden  bows, 
and  stanchions  are  used.  The  stanchions  are  the  most  conve- 
nient for  the  person  having  charge  of  the  cattle,  but,  we  think, 
less  comfortable  for  the  cattle  themselves  than  the  other  con- 

*  British  Husbandry. 


66  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

trivances  mentioned.  A  good  and  cheap  stanchion  is  con- 
structed as  follows : 

"  The  sills  of  the  stanchions  are  of  oak  joist,  six  by  two 
inches;  the  top  timbers  are  of  hemlock,  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions ;  the  stanchions  of  ash,  one  and  a  half  by  four  inches ; 
one  of  each  set  of  stanchions  is  pinned  between  the  sills  and 
the  corresponding  top  pieces.  From  the  bottom  of  the  sills  to 
the  top  of  the  stanchions  is  five  and  a  half  feet.  The  slip  stan- 
chions are  of  the  same  size  and  material  as  the  first  named, 
but  only  pinned  at  the  bottom,  which  allows  of  their  sliding 
back  at  the  top  about  sixteen  inches,  to  admit  the  animal's 
head ;  it  is  then  pushed  to  an  upright  position  and  fastened  at 
tlie  top  by  a  drop-button  or  clapper,  which  is  much  more 
secure  than  when  fastened  by  pins. 

"  For  oxen  and  large  cows,  there  is  allowed  a  space  for  each 
of  three  and  a  half  feet ;  for  younger  cattle  about  three  feet  to 
each.  We  have  frequently  seen  the  sill  and  top  piece  for  stan- 
chions made  of  solid  timber,  and  mortices  made  for  the  stan- 
chions. But  there  is  much  labor  required  in  morticing,  espe- 
cially the  top  timber,  so  as  to  allow  of  the  sliding  back  and  for- 
ward of  the  slip  stanchions.  The  kind  we  have  attempted  to  de- 
scribe can  be  readily  and  cheaply  made  by  almost  any  farmer."* 

2.  Feeding. — While  confined  to  the  barn  or  cow-house  and 
barn-yard,  during  the  cold  season,  cattle  should  be  fed  with 
the  utmost  regularity ;  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  nutritious 
food  supplied  to  keep  them  in  good  condition.  In  this  country, 
hay  is  the  principal  common  food  of  our  oxen  and  cows.  Roots 
are  too  seldom  employed  in  ordinary  feeding ;  and  we  have  no 
doubt  but  that  the  health  and,  consequently,  the  condition  and 
value  of  our  cattle  would  be  improved  by  giving  them  more 
turnips,  beets,  carrots,  parsneps,  etc.,  during  the  winter. 

An  English  writer  says:  "  Supposing  a  cow  to  calve  early  in 
April  or  May,  there  is  no  keeping  to  be  compared  with  a  sweet 
pasture  for  affording  the  best  flavored  milk  and  butter ;  therefore, 

*  Country  Gentleman. 


CATTLE.  67 

althougn  on  a  principle  of  economy  I  have  always  recommend- 
ed the  house  feeding  of  a  cow  (as  one  acre  of  good  clover  will 
support  three  cows  during  the  summer,  whereas  an  acre  of  pas- 
ture will  but  barely  suffice  for  one  during  the  same  period,  irre- 
spectively of  the  manure  saved  by  the  former  management),  I 
make  a  decided  exception  where  there  is  no  necessity  for 
minutely  regarding  economy  at  the  expense  of  the  discomfort 
of  the  cow,  and  the  inferiority  in  flavor,  if  not  in  quantity,  of 
cream  and  butter.  Yet,  even  with  liberty,  and  the  animal's 
enjoyment  of  picking  her  food  as  she  pleases,  there  will  be 
necessity  in  summer  for  some  artificially  grown  grasses,  to  sup- 
ply any  deficiency  that  may  occur  in  the  pasture,  and  provide 
for  the  house  feeding,  when  the  heat  of  the  sun,  the  stinging 
of  flies,  or  the  bursting  of  a  storm  may  render  the  shade  and 
security  of  the  cow-shed  very  grateful  to  your  cows.  In  the 
early  and  cold  spring,  and  before  the  grass  has  sufficiently 
sprung  up,  it  is  not  any  kindness  to  the  cow,  and  it  is  a  decided 
injury  to  the  ground  and  vegetation  to  turn  her  out ;  at  that 
season  she  requires  the  warmth  which  her  stall  affords,  and  the 
nourishment  that  nutritious  hay  and  roots  and  bran  impart." 

The  following  hints  from  the  pen  of  Henry  Colman  should 
be  well  heeded  by  every  farmer.  It  is  their  own  fault  if  Amer- 
ican agriculturists  do  not  profit  by  such  truthful  warnings. 

"  The  farmers  prejudice  very  greatly  their  own  interest  in 
suffering  their  milch  cows  to  come  out  in  the  spring  in  low 
condition.  During  the  time  they  are  dry,  they  think  it  enough 
to  give  them  the  coarsest  fodder,  and  that  in  limited  quantities ; 
this,  too,  at  a  time  of  pregnancy,  when  they  require  the  kind- 
est treatment  and  the  most  nourishing  food.  The  calf  itself 
under  this  treatment  of  the  cow  is"  small  and  feeble.  He  finds 
comparatively  insufficient  support  from  his  exhausted  dam ; 
and  the  return  which  the  cow  makes  in  milk  during  the  sum- 
mer is  much  less  than  it  would  be  if  she  came  into  the  spring 
in  good  health  and  flesh.  It  requires  the  whole  summer  to 
recover  what  she  has  lost.  The  animal  constitution  can  not  be 
trifled  with  in  this  way. 


68  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

"It  is  so  with  all  livestock,  and  especially  with  young  ani- 
mals, at  the  period  of  their  most  rapid  growth.  They  should 
not  be  prematurely  forced ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  should 
not  be  stinted  or  checked. 

"  In  the  feeding  of  cattle  for  market  a  great  deal  of  practical 
skill  is  required,  and  constant  observation  of  their  condition, 
otherwise  they  may  be  surfeited  and  their  appetite  destroyed, 
or  their  digestive  powers  be  overtasked,  and  the  feed  fail  of  its 
object. 

"  The  articles  usually  employed  in  fattening  cattle  are  hay 
and  Indian  meal,  or  corn  and  rye  meal  mixed,  or  pease  and 
oats,  or  oats  and  corn  ground  together.  Besides  this,  many 
farmers  are  in  the  practice  of  giving  their  stall-fed  cattle  occa- 
sionally certain  quantities  of  potatoes.  An  excellent  farmer, 
of  fifty  years'  experience  in  the  fatting  of  cattle,  is  of  opinion 
that  potatoes  are  good  feed  for  fatting  cattle  in  the  fall  and 
spring,  when  the  weather  is  warm;  but  they  do  no  good  in 
cold  weather  unless  they  are  cooked.  I  rely  much  upon  his 
judgment  and  experience.  The  value  of  potatoes  is  differently 
estimated  by  different  individuals ;  some  considering  five  bush- 
els, others  rating  four  bushels,  as  equivalent  to  one  bushel  of 
corn." 

An  extensive  cattle-dealer  who  has  tried  a  variety  of  mix- 
tures of  feed,  such  as  oats,  brown-corn  seed,  etc.,  prefers  Indian 
meal  to  every  other  feed.  He  disapproves  of  excessive  feed- 
ing, and  thinks  it  a  great  error  to  give  too  much.  He  deems 
four  quarts,  with  hay,  ordinarily  enough  ;  and  ten  quarts  a  day 
sufficient  for  any  animal.  He  feeds  twice  a  day  with  great 
regularity.  His  present  cattle  have  never  received  over  eight 
quarts  per  day  each ;  and  at  first  putting  up,  a  much  less  quan- 
tity. He  deems  it  best  to  reduce  their  feed  of  provender  a  few 
days  before  starting  for  market.  He  buys  his  cattle  for  feeding 
in  the  fall ;  and  his  present  stock  averaged  in  the  cost  seventy- 
five  dollars  per  pair.* 

*  American  Fanner's  Encyclopedia. 


CATTLE.  69 

"It  is  sometimes  asked,"  Mr.  Colman  says,  "whether  oxen 
are  injured  in  their  growth  from  being  worked.  If  their 
strength  is  prematurely  and  too  severely  taxed,  or  if  they  are 
subjected  to  severe  usage,  undoubtedly  it  must  prove  injurious ; 
but,  if  otherwise,  if  reasonably  worked  and  carefully  and  kindly 
attended,  there  is  no  doubt  that  their  health  and  growth  are 
promoted  by  it.  It  is  often  matter  of  inquiry,  whether  fatting 
cattle  should  be  kept  in  close  stalls,  or  be  suffered  to  lie  out- 
doors. The  experience  of  all  the  farmers  whom  I  have  consult- 
ed, who  have  made  any  trial,  is  conclusive  in  this  case,  in  favor 
of  the  superior  thrift  of  animals  kept  constantly  in  the  barn,  or 
turned  out  only  for  watering  and  immediately  put  up  again, 
over  those  which  are  kept  in  open  sheds,  or  tied  up  for  feeding 
only,  and  at  other  times  allowed  to  lie  in  the  yard.  No  exact 
experiments  have  been  made  in  this  country  in  relation  to  this 
subject;  but  experiments  made  abroad  lead  to  the  conclusion, 
that  cattle  thrive  best  in  a  high  and  equable  temperature,  so 
warm  as  to  keep  them  constantly  in  a  state  of  active  perspi- 
ration, and  that  their  thrift  is  much  hindered  by  an  exposure 
to  severe  alternations  of  heat  and  cold.  It  is  certain,  that  in 
order  to  thrift,  cattle  can  not  be  made  too  comfortable  ;  their 
mangers  should  be  kept  clean ;  their  stalls  be  well  littered ; 
and  the  cattle  protected  from  currents  of  air  blowing  through 
crevices  or  holes  in  the  floors  or  the  sides  of  the  stables,  which 
prove  often  much  more  uncomfortable  than  an  open  exposure.1' 

3.  Rearing  Calves.— Many  different  opinions  prevail  on  the 
subject  of  rearing  calves.  The  following  plan,  detailed  by  a 
Western  breeder,  we  deem  an  excellent  one : 

"  I  have  my  cows  so  managed  that  they  come  in  early  in 
spring.  I  wean  the  calves  after  they  have  drawn  the  milk 
two  or  three  times,  while  I  milk  at  the  same  time,  all  clean, 
that  which  the  calf  may  not  be  strong  enough  to  draw.  Then 
I  allow  the  calves  nearly  all  the  milk  the  cows  give,  for  four 
or  six  weeks,  which  gives  them  a  good  start ;  next,  I  teach 
them,  when  two  or  three  weeks  old,  to  eat  some  little  of  meal 
or  threshed  oats,  and  lick  a  little  salt ;  at  the  same  time  I  let 


70  D  o  M  E  s  T  i  c   ANIMALS. 

them  have  access  to  some  good  hay ;  next,  I  reduce  the  quan- 
tity of  new  milk,  and  give  them  sweet  milk  minus  the  cream, 
and  by  degrees  teach  them  to  drink  coppered  milk,  feeding  ten 
or  twelve  together  in  a  trough.  This  I  consider  better  than 
milk  wrhich  is  just  on  a  change  from  sweet  to  sour.  As  soon  as 
practicable  after  there  is  a  good  bite  of  grass,  I  turn  them  into 
pasture,  even  with  the  cows,  for  they  know  not  their  dams. 
I  still  feed  them  with  milk  until  about  three  months  old,  and 
all  through  the  season  if  it  can  be  had.  In  this  wise  calves  are 
hearty,  learn  easy  to  eat  anything  which  may  be  offered,  and 
will  winter  better  than  calves  which  have  drawn  the  milk  from 
cows,  and  have  received  'more  knocks  than  nubbins.'  They 
are  also  more  gentle,  easier  turned  to  the  yoke,  or  to  milk,  and 
are  not  afraid  of  their  masters ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  learn  to 
know  the  hands  that  feed  them.  By  giving  them  a  good 
chance  the  first  winter,  they  generally  make  good  thrifty 
cattle." 

4.  Milking. — In  reference  to  milking,  Martin  Doyle  says: 
"  Cows  in  general  are  milked  but  twice  a  day,  morning  and 
evening;  but  some  of  the  Durham  cows,  particularly  when  in 
full  season  and  abundantly  fed,  will  require  to  be  milked  at 
noon  also.  In  this  case  nothing  is  really  gained  in  the  quantity 
of  milk,  and  its  quality  is  weakened,  as  twelve  hours  are  re- 
quired for  the  due  chemical  preparation  of  the  milk.  There- 
fore the  tendency  to  this  want  of  retention  in  a  cow  is  not  to 
be  encouraged ;  the  milk  should  only  be  drawn  off  at  supernu- 
merary times,  if  the  udder  be  excessively  distended,  and  the 
milk  flows  spontaneously.  At  each  regular  time  of  milking, 
the  contents  of  the  udder  should  be  completely  drawn  off — the 
last  drop  is  the  richest :  when  there  are  two,  three,  or  more 
cows,  the  dairy-maid,  if  she  understands  her  business,  will  go 
with  a  separate  vessel  and  milk  the  strippings  into  it  until 
each  udder  is  perfectly  dry.  This  small  portion  of  rich  milk 
will  give  her  moro  cream  than  a  larger  quantity,  and  she  re- 
serves it,  if  she  be  a  prudent  person,  for  her  own  tea. 

"  A  cow  should  be  handled  with  exceeding  gentleness,  other- 


CATTLE.  11 

wise  milking  may  become  an  unpleasant  or  even  a  painful 
operation  to  her.  If  a  cross-grained  man  or  woman,  with  a 
vinegar  face,  handles  the  teats  roughly,  and  bullies  a  cow  of 
sensitiveness,  she  may  refuse  to  let  her  milk  flow,  though  she 
would  yield  to  the  first  touch  of  a  good-tempered  person.  If 
the  udder  be  hard,  it  will  require  fomentation  with  lukewarm 
water  and  gentle  rubbing.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  teats 
become  sore ;  in  this  case  an  application  of  sweet  oil,  after 
washing  the  affected  part  with  soap  and  water,  will  probably 
cure  it. 

"  A  cow  may  be  milked  until  within  a  month  of  calving, 
provided  the  milk  does  not  curdle  on  being  slightly  warmed,  or 
possess  a  salt  taste ;  either  would  be  an  indication  that  no  more 
milk  should  be  taken." 

V.— WEIGHT  OF  LIVE  CATTLE. 

Experienced  drovers  and  butchers  are  in  the  habit,  in  buy- 
ing cattle,  to  estimate  their  weight  on  foot.  Long  experience 
and  much  practice  enables  them  to  judge  with  considerable 
accuracy.  They  thus  have  the  advantage  of  the  less  experi- 
enced farmer,  who,  for  this  reason,  very  often  comes  off 
"  second  best"  in  a  bargain.  We  recommend  to  them  the 
following  rule,  by  means  of  which  the  weight  of  cattle  may  be 
ascertained  with  a  very  close  approach  to  the  accuracy  of  the 
scales. 

Rule. — Take  a  string,  put  it  around  the  breast,  stand  square 
just  behind  the  shoulder-blade,  measure  on  a  rule  the  feet  and 
inches  the  animal  is  in  circumference  ;  this  is  called  the  girth; 
then,  with  the  string,  measure  from  the  bone  of  the  tail  which 
plumbs  the  line  with  the  hinder  part  of  the  buttock;  direct 
the  line  along  the  back  to  the  forepart  of  the  shoulder-blade  ; 
take  the  dimensions  on  the  foot  rule  as  before,  which  is  the 
length  ;  and  work  the  figures  in  the  following  manner :  Girth 
of  the  animal,  say  6  feet  4  inches,  length  5  feet  3  inches, 
which  multiplied  together,  makes  31  square  superficial  feet, 
and  that  multiplied  by  23,  the  number  of  pounds  allowed  to 


72  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

each  superficial  foot  of  cattle  measuring  less  than  7  and  more 
than  5  feet  in  girth,  makes  713  pounds.  When  the  animal 
measures  less  than  9  and  more  than  7  feet  in  girth,  31  is  the 
number  of  pounds  to  each  superficial  foot.  Again,  suppose  a 
pig  or  any  small  beast  should  measure  2  feet  in  girth  and  2 
along  the  back,  which  multiplied  together  makes  4  square  feet, 
that  multiplied  by  11,  the  number  of  pounds  allowed  to  each 
square  foot  of  cattle  measuring  less  than  3  feet  in  girth,  makes 
44  pounds.  Again,  suppose  a  calf,  a  sheep,  etc.,  should  meas- 
ure 4  feet  6  inches  in  girth,  and  3  feet  9  inches  in  length, 
which  multiplied  together  make  15|  square  feet ;  that  multi- 
plied by  16,  the  number  of  pounds  allowed  to  cattle  measuring 
less  than  5  feet  and  more  than  3  in  girth,  makes  265  pounds. 
The  dimensions  of  girth  and  length  of  horned  cattle,  sheep, 
calves,  and  hogs,  may  be  exactly  taken  in  this  way,  as  it  is  all 
that  is  necessary  for  any  computation,  or  any  valuation  of 
stock,  and  will  answer  exactly  to  the  four  quarters,  sinking 
offal.* 

This  rule  is  so  simple  that  any  man  with  a  bit  of  chalk  can 
work  it  out,  and  its  application  will  often  save  the  farmer  from 
losses  which  mere  guess  work  is  liable  to  occasion. 


*  Valley  Farmer. 


SHEEP. 


73 


IV. 

SHEEP, 

Thy  flocks  the  verdant  htllglde  range— Aita*. 

I.-CHABACTEKISTICS. 

HE  sheep  (Ovis  aries)  is  naturally  a  denizen  of 
the  hills.  Its  instincts,  even  in  its  domesti- 
cated state,  attach  it  to  the  upland  slopes ;  and 
when  free  to  do  so,  it  always  seeks  the  highest 
grounds,  where  aromatic  plants  abound  and  the 
herbage  is  less  succulent  than  in  the  valleys.  The  wild  sheep, 
like  the  deer,  is  found  to  frequent  all  those  places  where  saline 
exudations  abound  and  to  lick  the  salt  earth.  In  its  wild 
state  it  generally  has  horns,  but  these  have  nearly  disappeared 
in  most  of  the  domestic  breeds.  The  female  goes  with  young 
twenty-one  weeks,  and  usually  produces  only  one  at  a  birth. 
Twins,  however,  are  not  uncommon. 

Immense  flocks  of  sheep  have  been  kept  by  man  in  all  ages, 
but  more  generally  for  their  wool  and  skins  than  for  their  flesh ; 
for  that  is  by  n<?  means  generally  relished.  The  Oalmucks  and 
Cossacks  still  prefer  that  of  the  horse  and  the  camel,  and  the 
Spaniard,  if  he  can  procure  other  flesh,  rarely  eats  that  of  the 
Merino.  To  a  majority  of  Americans  it  is  an  object  of  dislike, 
although  it  is  gaining  in  favor  among  us.  Englishmen  consume 
more  mutton  than  any  other  people,  but  the  taste  for  it  is  of 
modern  origin  with  them. 

The  natural  age  of  the  sheep,  according  to  Youatt,  is  about 
ten  years,  up  to  which  age  they  will  breed  and  thrive  well ; 
but  there  are  instances  of  their  breeding  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
and  living  twenty  years. 


74  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

II.— BEEEDS. 

Specimens  of  nearly  or  quite  all  the  valuable  breeds  of  sheep 
now  known  may,  it  is  believed,  be  found  in  the  United  States. 
The  principal  of  these  are  the  Native  (so  called) ;  the  Spanish 
Merino ;  the  Saxon  Merino ;  the  New  Leicester  or  Bakewell ; 
the  South-Down ;  the  Cotswold,  the  Cheviot,  and  the  Lincoln. 
Between  these  breeds  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  crosses  have 
taken  place  ;  so  that,  comparatively  speaking,  few  flocks  in  the 
United  States  preserve  entire  the  distinctive  characteristics  of 
any  one  breed,  or  that  can  lay  claim  to  purity  of  blood.* 

1.  The  Native  Breed. — This  name  is  applied  to  the  common 
coarse-wooled  sheep  existing  here  previous  to  the  importation 
of  the  improved  breeds.     They  are,  however,  of  foreign,  and 
mostly  of  English  origin,  and  probably  are  the  result  of  the  ad- 
mixture of  various  breeds.     This  common  stock  of  sheep,  as  a 
distinct  family,  has  nearly  disappeared,  having  been  univer- 
sally crossed,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  with  foreign  breeds  of 
later  introduction ;  and  especially  with  the  Spanish  and  Saxon 
Merinos. 

2.  The  Spanish  Merino  Breed. — Of  this  excellent  breed  there 
have  been  many  importations  from  France  and  Spain.     There 
are  several  varieties  of  the  Merino,  differing  essentially  in 
form,  size,  and  quality  of  wool.     American  Merinos  may  be 
classed  under  three  general  heads,  and  are  thus  described  : 

"  The  first  is  a  large,  short-legged,  strong,  and  exceedingly 
hardy  sheep,  carrying  a  heavy  fleece,  ranging  from  medium  to 
fine,  somewhat  inclined  to  throatiness,  bred  to  exhibit  external 
concrete  gum  in  some  flocks,  but  not  commonly  so. 

"  The  second  general  class  of  American  Merinos  are  smaller 
than  the  preceding,  less  hardy  ;  wool,  as  a  general  thing,  finer, 
and  covered  with  a  black,  pitchy  gum  on  its  extremities.  The 
fleece  is  about  one  third  lighter  than  in  the  first  class. 

"  The  third  class,  which  have  been  bred  mostly  at  the  South, 
are  still  smaller  and  less  hardy,  and  carry  lighter  and  finer 

*  Randall's  Sheep  Husbandry. 


SHEEP. 


T5 


fleeces,  destitute  of  external  gum.  The  sheep  and  the  wool 
bear  a  close  resemblace  to  the  Saxon,  and  if  not  actually  mixed 
with  that  blood,  they  have  been  formed  into  a  similar  variety 
by  a  similar  course  of  breeding. 

"  Class  first  are  larger  and  stronger  sheep  than  those  orig- 
inally imported  from  Spain,  and  in  well-selected  flocks  or  indi- 
viduals the  fleece  is  of  a  decidedly  better  quality."* 

The  Merino,  although  a  native  of  a  warm  climate,  becomes 
readily  inured  to  the  greatest  extremes  of  cold,  flourishing  even 
so  far  north  as  Sweden  without  degenerating  in  fleece  or  form 
Fig.  22. 


THE  SPANISH  MERINO. 

It  is  patient,  docile,  hardy,  and  long  lived.  Its  flesh,  in  spite 
of  the  prejudice  which  exists  on  the  subject,  is  short-grained, 
and  of  a  good  flavor  when  killed  at  a  proper  age.  It  is  longer 
in  coming  to  maturity  than  most  other  breeds,  and  does  not 
attain  its  full  growth  till  it  is  about  three  years  old.t 


Kandall. 


t  Transactions  of  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society. 


76  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

3.  The  Saxon  Merino  Breed. — The  Saxon  Merinos  are  de- 
scended from  the  Spanish,  having  been  imported  from  Spain 
into  Saxony  in  1765.     They  have  been  considerably  modified 
by  their   German  breeding,   the  German   shepherds  having 
sacrificed  hardiness,  and  indeed  almost  everything  else,  to  fine- 
ness of  staple. 

There  are  very  few  flocks  of  pure  Saxon  sheep  in  the  United 
States,  the  importations  in  several  instances  having  been  grade 
sheep,  although  sold  as  pure  stock.  Most  flocks  have  again 
been  crossed  with  Native  or  Spanish  Merino  sheep  or  with 
both ;  but  the  mixed  breed  thus  produced,  which  we  may  call 
the  American  Saxons,  have  so  long  been  bred  toward  the  Sax- 
ons, that  their  wool  equals  that  of  the  pure  breed.  They  are 
hardier  than  the  parent  German  stock,  but  still  comparatively 
tender,  requiring  regular  supplies  of  good  food,  protection  from 
storms  of  all  kinds,  and  good  shelter  in  winter.  In  docility, 
patience  under  confinement,  late  maturity,  and  longevity,  they 
resemble  the  Spanish  Merinos.* 

4.  The  New  Leicester  Breed. — This  celebrated  English  breed 
comprehends  the  most  excellent  of  the  breed  of  Mr.  Bakewell, 
their  great  improver,  and  of  Mr.  Culley's  variety  or  improve- 
ment  upon   it.      "  The   principal   recommendations   of  this 
breed,"  Culley  says,  "  are  its  beauty  and  its  fullness  of  form ; 
in  the  same  apparent  dimensions  greater  weight  than  any  other 
sheep ;  an  early  maturity  and  a  propensity  to  fatten  equaled  by 
no  other  breed ;  a  diminution  of  the  proportion  of  offal,  and 
the  return  of  the  most  money  for  the  food  consumed." 

"The  wool  of  the  New  Leicester,"  according  to  Randall,  "is 
long,  averaging,  after  the  first  shearing,  about  six  inches,  and 
the  fleece  of  the  American  animal  weighs  about  six  pounds.  It 
is  of  a  coarse  quality,  and  is  little  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
cloths.  As  a  combing  wool,  however,  it  stands  first,  and  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  finest  worsteds,  etc." 

In  England,  the  mutton  of  this  breed  is  in  great  demand,  and 

*  Randall. 


m 


Y8  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

brings  good  prices.  It  is  not  generally  considered  a  profitable 
breed  in  this  country,  except,  perhaps,  on  rich  lowland  farms 
in  the  vicinity  of  considerable  markets. 

5.  The  South-Down  Breed.  —The  South-Down  is  an  upland 
sheep  of  medium  size,  and  its  wool,  in  point  of  length,  belongs 
to  the  medium  class.  There  has  been  considerable  controversy 
in  reference  to  the  value  of  the  Downs  in  comparison  with  the 
other  favorite  breeds.  Mr.  Randall  does  not  rate  them  very 
high  for  wool-bearing.  But  they  are  cultivated  in  England 
more  particularly  for  their  mutton,  which  in  the  English  mar- 
kets takes  precedence  of  every  other  sort. 

"  The  Down  is  turned  off  at  two  years  old,  and  its  weight  at 
that  age  in  England  is  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  pounds.  Not- 
withstanding its  weight,  the  Down  has  a  patience  of  occa- 
sional short  keep,  and  an  endurance  of  hard  stocking  equal  to 
any  other  sheep.  It  is  hardy,  healthy,  quiet,  and  docile.  It 
withstands  our  American  winters  well.  A  sheep  possessing 
such  qualities  must  of  course  be  valuable  in  upland  districts  in 
the  vicinity  of  markets."* 

Mr.  J.  0.  Taylor,  of  Holmdel,  N.  J.,  in  a  communication 
published  in  the  Country  Gentleman,  says  : 

"I  contend  that  under  a  high  state  of  management,  the 
South-Downs  are  a  very  profitable  sheep  to  keep,  in  proof  of 
which  (for  I  have  the  figures)  I  will  cite  my  now  yearling  ram. 
Last  July  he  was  worth  five  dollars  to  sell  for  butchering, 
without  anything  more  than  good  pasture ;  he  served  several 
ewes  from  the  middle  of  September  to  the  first  of  December, 
which  was  much  against  his  growth.  At  seven  cents  per 
week,  from  July  to  December,  say  $1  50 — cost  of  keep  from 
December  to  May  2d,  $5  41,  making,  with  his  worth  in  July,  a 
total  of  $11  91.  Had  he  been  a  wether  I  could  have  sold  him 
on  May  2d  for  $22  for  butchering,  leaving  a  clear  gain  of  over 
$10  at  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  months  old  !  I  ask  the  stock- 
raiser  and  feeder  if  this  is  not  as  profitable  as  long  wools,  or 

*  Randall. 


80  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

any  other  stock ?  Is  it  not  more  profitable?  But  the  Downs 
are  a  superior  sheep  for  crossing  with  common  ewes  to  pro- 
duce butcher's  lambs,  superior  to  any  long  wools. 

"  A  few  years  ago  a  Mr.  Beers  went  to  Canada  and  procured 
a  large  lot  of  the  Canada  Leicester,  and  many  of  our  farmers 
were  induced  by  their  large  size  (with  their  wool  on)  to  buy 
them.  I  expected  to  be  driven  out  of  the  market  with  my 
South-Downs  ;  but  at  the  first  county  fair  (South-Downs  hav- 
ing to  show  against  long  wool)  I  made  a  clean  sweep  of  it,  arid 
there  has  never  been  one  of  them  shown  since.  A  certain 
farmer  procured  one  of  Mr.  Beers'  bucks,  and  also  a  South- 
Down  ;  he  divided  his  flock  of  ewes  as  nearly  as  possible  be- 
tween the  two  bucks ;  the  result  was,  the  half-blood  Down 
lambs  were  all  fat,  and  sold  before  any  of  the  half-blood  Leices- 
ters  were  fit  for  market.  This  farmer  finds  the  South-Downs 
so  profitable  that  he  keeps  no  other  than  a  South-Down  buck." 

6.  The  Cotswold  Breed.— "  The  Cotswold,"  Spooner  says, 
"  is  a  large  breed  of  sheep,  with  a  long  and  abundant  fleece,  and 
the  ewes  are  very  prolific  and  good  nurses.  They  have  been 
extensively  crossed  with  the  Leicester  sheep,  by  which  their 
size  and  fleece  have  been  somewhat  diminished,  but  their  car- 
casses considerably  improved,  and  their  maturity  rendered 
earlier.  The  wool  is  strong,  mellow,  and  of  good  color,  al- 
though rather  coarse,  from  six  to  eight  inches  in  length,  and 
from  seven  to  eight  pounds  per  fleece.  The  quality  of  the  mut- 
ton is  considered  superior  to  the  Leicester." 

We  believe  the  Cotswolds  have  not  been  extensively  bred  in 
the  United  States,  although  there  have  been  several  importa- 
tions. An  improved  variety  of  the  Cotswolds,  under  the  name 
of  the  New  Oxfordshire  sheep,  have  lately  attracted  consider- 
able attention,  and  have  frequently  been  successful  candidates 
for  prizes  offered  for  the  best  long-wooled  sheep  at  agricultural 
shows. 

Y.  The  Cheviot  Breed. — The  Cheviot  sheep  are  a  peculiar 
breed,  which  are  kept  on  the  extensive  range  of  the  Cheviot 
Hills.  They  are  described  as  having  "  the  face  and  legs  gen- 


SHEEP.  81 

erally  white  ;  the  eye  lively  and  prominent ;  the  countenance 
open  and  pleasing ;  the  ear  large,  and  with  a  long  space  from 
the  ear  to  the  eye ;  the  body  long ;  and  tience  they  are  called 
'long  sheep,'  in  distinction  from  the  black-faced  breed.  They 
are  full  behind  the  shoulder,  have  a  long,  straight  back,  are 
round  in  the  rib,  and  well-proportioned  in  the  quarters ;  the 
legs  clean  and  small-boned,  and  the  pelt  thin,  but  thickly  cov- 
ered with  fine,  short  wool ;  they  possess  very  considerable  fat- 
tening qualities,  and  can  endure  much  hardship,  both  from 
starvation  and  cold."* 

We  have  no  acquaintance  with  this  breed.  There  are  prob- 
ably but  few  of  them  in  this  country.  Mr.  Randall  speaks  very 
disparagingly  of  those  which  had  fallen  under  his  observation, 
but  which  may  have  not  been  fair  specimens  of  their  breed. 

8.  The  Lincoln  Breed. — Culley  described  the  old  breed  of 
Lincolnshire  sheep,  half  a  century  ago,  as  having  "  no  horns, 
white  faces,  long,  thin,  and  weak  carcasses  ;  the  ewes  weighing 
from  14  to  20  Ibs.  per  quarter,  the  three-year  old  wethers  from 
20  to  80  Ibs. ;  thick,  rough,  white  leg,  large  bones,  thick  pelts, 
and  long  wool,  from  10  to  18  inches,  and  weighing  from  8  to 
14  Ibs.  per  fleece,  and  covering  a  slow-feeding,  coarse-grained 
carcass  of  mutton."  Culley,  however,  ran  into  the  opposite 
extreme ;  if  the  Lincolnshire  farmers  bred  only  for  the  wool, 
he  regarded  only  the  mutton.  A  cross  between  the  two  pro- 
duced a  very  profitable  and  much  improved  animal. 

III.— CHOICE  OP  BBEED. 

"In  selecting  a  breed  for  any  given  locality,"  Mr.  Randall 
says,  "  we  are  to  take  into  consideration,  first,  the  feed  and  cli- 
mate, or  the  surrounding  natural  circumstances  ;  and  second, 
the  market  facilities  and  demands.  We  should  then  make 
choice  of  that  breed  which,  with  the  advantages  posssessed, 
and  under  all  the  circumstances,  will  yield  the  greatest  net 
value  of  marketable  product. 


*  American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia. 

4* 


82  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

"  Rich  lowland  herbage,  in  a  climate  which  allows  it  to  re- 
main green  during  a  large  portion  of  the  year,  is  favorable  to 
the  production  of  large  carcasses.  If  convenient  to  markets 
where  mutton  finds  a  ready  sale  at  good  prices,  then  all  the 
conditions  are  realized  which  call  for  a  mutton  as  contradis- 
tinguished from  a  wool-producing  sheep.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, the  choice  should  undoubtedly,  in  my  judgment,  rest 
between  the  improved  English  varieties — the  South-Down,  the 
New  Leicester,  and  the  improved  Cotswold  or  New  Oxford- 
shire. In  deciding  between  these,  minor  and  more  specific 
circumstances  are  to  be  taken  into  account." 

For  wool-growing  purposes  he  thinks  the  Merino  "  possesses 
a  marked  and  decided  superiority  over  the  best  breeds  and 
families  of  coarse- wooled  sheep  ;"  and  its  inferiority  as  a  mut- 
ton sheep,  he  thinks  is  not  so  great  as  is  generally  supposed. 

IV— GENERAL  MANAGEMENT. 

The  following  hints  are  all  condensed  from  Randall's  excel- 
lent work  on  Sheep  Husbandry,  to  which  the  reader  who  may 
desire  further  details  is  referred. 

1.  Barns,  Sheds,  etc. — "Humanity  and  economy  both  dictate 
that  sheep  be  provided  with  shelters  to  lie  under  nights,  and 
to  which  they  can  resort  at  will.  In  our  severe  winter  storms 
it  is  sometimes  necessary,  or  at  least  by  far  the  best,  to  feed 
under  shelter  for  a  day  or  two.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  cir- 
cumstance, in  New  York  and  New  England,  for  snow  to  fall  to 
the  depth  of  twenty  or  thirty  inches,  within  twenty-four  or 
forty-eight  hours,  and  then  to  be  succeeded  by  a  strong  and  in- 
tensely cold  west  or  northwest  wind  of  two  or  three  days'  con- 
tinuance,* which  lifts  the  snow,  blocking  up  the  roads,  and  piling 
huge  drifts  to  the  leeward  of  fences,  barns,  etc.  A  flock  without 
shelter  will  huddle  closely  together,  turning  their  backs  to  the 
storm,  constantly  stepping  and  thus  treading  down  the  snow 
as  it  rises  about  them.  Strong,  close-coated  sheep  do  not 

*  These  terrible  wind-storms  are  of  much  longer  continuance  in  many  parts 
of  New  England. 


SHEEP.  83 

seem  to  suffer  as  much  from  the  cold,  for  a  period,  as  would 
be  expected ;  but  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  feed  them  enough 
or  half  enough,  under  such  circumstances,  without  an  immense 
waste  of  hay — entirely  impossible,  without  racks.  The  hay  is 
whirled  away  in  an  instant  by  the  wind ;  and  even  if  racks  are 
used,  the  sheep  leaving  their  huddle  where  they  were  kept 
warm  and  even  moist  by  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  their  wool, 
soon  get  chilled  and  are  disposed  to  return  to  their  huddle. 
Imperfectly  filled  with  food,  the  supply  of  animal  heat  is  low- 
ered, and  at  the  end  of  the  second  or  third  day  the  feeble  ones 
have  sunk  down  hopelessly,  the  yearlings  and  oldish  ones  have 
received  a  shock  which  nothing  but  careful  nursing  will  recover 
them  from,  and  even  the  strongest  have  suffered  an  injurious 
loss  in  condition. 

"The  simplest  and  cheapest  kind  of  shed  is  formed  by  poles 
or  rails,  the  upper  ends  resting  on  a  strong  horizontal  pole  sup- 
ported by  crotched  posts  set  in  the  ground.  It  may  be  ren- 
dered rain-proof  by  pea-haulm,  straw,  or  pine  boughs. 

"  In  a  region  where  lumber  is  very  cheap,  planks  or  boards 
(of  sufficient  thickness  not  to  spring  downward,  and  thus  open 
the  roof),  battened  with  slabs,  may  take  the  place  of  the  poles 
and  boughs ;  and  they  would  make  a  tighter  and  more  durable 
roof.  If  the  lower  ends  of  the  boards  or  poles  are  raised  a 
couple  of  feet  from  the  ground,  by  placing  a  log  under  them 
the  shed  will  shelter  more  sheep. 

"These  movable  sheds  may  be  connected  with  hay-barns, 
'hay-barracks,'  stacks,  or  they  may  surround  an  inclosed  space 
with  a  stack  in  the  middle.  In  the  latter  case,  however,  the 
yard  should  be  square,  instead  of  round,  on  account  of  the 
divergence  in  the  lower  ends  of  the  boards  or  poles,  which  the 
round  form  would  render  necessary." 

2.  Feeding-Racks. — "  When  the  ground  is  frozen,  and  espe- 
cially when  covered  with  snow,  the  sheep  eats  hay  better  on 
the  ground  than  anywhere  else.  When  the  land  is  soft,  muddy, 
or  foul  with  manure,  they  will  scarcely  touch  hay  placed  on  it. 
It  should  then  be  fed  in  racks. 


84:  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

"These  are  of  various  forms.  Fig.  25  gives  the  common 
box  rack  in  the  most  general  use  in  the  North.  It  is  ten  feet 
long,  two  and  a  half  wide,  the  lower  boards  a  foot  wide,  the 
upper  ones  about  ten  inches,  the  two  about  nine  inches  apart, 

Fig.  25. 


Box  BACK. 

and  the  corner  posts  three  by  three,  or  three  and  a  half  by  two 
and  a  half  inches.  The  boards  are  spiked  on  these  posts  by 
large  flat-headed  nails  wrought  for  the  purpose,  and  the  lower 
edges  of  the  upper  boards  and  the  upper  edges  of  the  lower 
ones  are  rounded  so  they  shall  not  wear  the  wool  off  from  the 
sheep's  necks.  The  lower  boards  and  the  opening  for  the 
heads  should  be  two  or  three  inches  narrower  for  lambs.  If 
made  of  light  wood,  as  they  should  be,  a  man  standing  in  the 
inside  and  middle  of  one  of  these  racks,  can  easily  carry  it 
about — an  important  desideratum.  Unless  over-fed,  sheep 
waste  very  little  hay  in  them." 

An  improvement  upon  the  common  box  rack  has  holes  eight 
inches  wide,  nine  inches  high,  and  about  eighteen  inches  apart, 
instead  of  the  continuous  opening  represented  in  the  foregoing 
cut ;  but  it  is  a  little  more  expensive. 

3.  Feeding. — "In  Germany  great  stress  is  laid  on  variety 
in  the  winter  fodder,  and  elaborate  systems  of  feeding  are 
given.  Variations  of  dry  fodder  are  well  enough,  but  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  Northern  flocks  receive  nothing  but  ordinary 
hay,  consisting  mainly  of  timothy  (Phleum  pratense),  some  red 
and  white  clover  (Trifolium  pratense  et  repens),  and  frequently 
a  sprinkling  of  June  or  spear-grass  (Poa  pratensis),  during  the 
entire  whiter.  Others  receive  an  occasional  fodder  of  corn- 
stalks and  straw,  and  some  farmers  give  a  daily  feed  of  grain 


SHEEP.  85 

through  the  winter.  "Where  hay  is  the  principal  feed,  it  may 
be  well,  where  it  is  convenient,  to  give  corn-stalks  (or  'blades') 
every  fifth  or  sixth  feed,  or  even  once  a  day  ;  or  the  daily  feed, 
not  of  hay,  might  alternate  between  blades,  pea-straw,  straw 
of  the  cereal  grains,  etc.  Should  any  other  fodder  besides  hay 
be  the  principal  one,  as,  for  example,  corn-blades  or  pea- 
haulm,  each  of  the  other  fodders  might  be  alternated  in  the 
same  way.  It  is  mainly,  in  my  judgment,  a  question  of  conve- 
nience with  the  flock-master,  provided  a  proper  supply  of  pal- 
atable nutriment  within  a  proper  compass  is  given.  Hay, 
clover,  properly  cured  pea-haulm,  and  corn-blades  are  palatable 
to  the  sheep,  and  each  contain  the  necessary  supply  of  nutri- 
ment in  the  quantity  which  the  sheep  can  readily  take  into  its 
stomach.  Consequently,  from  either  of  these,  the  sheep  can 
derive  its  entire  subsistence.  Sheep  should  not  run  or  be  fed 
in  yards  with  any  other  stock. 

"  The  expediency  of  feeding  grain  to  store  sheep  in  the  win- 
ter depends  upon  circumstances.  Remote  from  markets,  it  is 
generally  fed  by  the  holders  of  large  flocks.  Oats  are  com- 
monly preferred,  and  they  are  fed  at  the  rate  of  a  gill  a  head 
per  day.  Some  feed  half  the  same  amount  of  (yellow)  corn. 
Fewer  sheep — particularly  lambs,  yearlings,  and  crones — get 
thin  and  perish,  where  they  receive  a  daily  feed  of  grain ;  they 
consume  less  hay,  and  their  fleeces  are  increased  in  weight. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  is  considered  good  economy. 
Where  no  grain  is  fed,  three  daily  feeds  of  hay  are  given.  It  is 
a  common  and  very  good  practice  to  feed  greenish  cut  oats  in 
the  bundle,  at  noon,  and  give  but  two  feeds  of  hay — one  at 
morning  and  one  at  night.  A  few  feed  greenish  cut  peas  in  the 
same  way.  In  warm,  thawing  weather,  when  sheep  get  to  the 
ground,  and  refuse  dry  hay,  a  little  grain  assists  materially  in 
keeping  up  their  strength  and  condition.  This  may  furnish  a 
useful  hint  for  many  parts  of  the  South.  "When  the  feed  is 
shortest  in  winter,  in  the  South,  there  are  many  localities 
where  sheep  would  get  enough  grass  to  take  off  their  appetite 
for  dry  hay,  but  not  quite  enough  to  keep  them  in  prime  con- 


86  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

dition.  A  moderate  daily  feed  of  oats  or  peas,  placed  in  the 
depository  racks,  would  keep  them  strong,  in  good  plight  for 
the  lambing  season,  and  increase  their  weight  of  wool. 

"Ruta-bagas,  Irish  potatoes,  etc.,  make  a  good  substitute  for 
grain,  as  an  extra  feed  for  grown  sheep.  I  prefer  the  ruta- 
baga to  the  potato  in  equivalents  of  nutriment.  I  do  not  con- 
sider either  of  them,  or  any  other  root,  as  good  for  lambs  and 
yearlings  as  an  equivalent  in  grain.  Sheep  may  be  tauglit  to 
eat  nearly  all  the  cultivated  roots ;  this  is  done  by  withholding 
salt  from  them,  and  then  feeding  the  chopped  root  a  few  times 
rubbed  with  just  sufficient  salt  to  induce  them  to  eat  the  root 
to  obtain  it,  but  not  enough  to  satisfy  their  appetite  for  salt 
before  they  have  acquired  a  taste  for  the  roots. 

"  If  there  is  one  rule  which  may  be  considered  more  impera- 
tive than  any  other  in  sheep  husbandry,  it  is  that  the  utmost 
regularity  be  preserved  in  feeding.  First,  there  should  be  reg- 
ularity as  to  the  times  of  feeding.  However  abundantly  pro- 
vided for,  when  a  flock  are  foddered  sometimes  at  one  hour 
and  sometimes  at  another — sometimes  three  times  a  day  and 
sometimes  twice — some  days  grain  and  some  days  none — they 
can  not  ~be  made  to  thrive.  They  will  do  far  better  on  inferior 
keep,  if  fed  with  strict  regularity.  In  a  climate  where  they 
require  hay  three  times  a  day,  the  best  times  for  feeding  are 
about  sunrise  in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  an  hour  fief  ore  dark 
at  night.  Unlike  cattle  and  horses,  sheep  do  not  eat  well  in 
the  dark,  and  therefore  they  should  have  time  to  consume  their 
food  before  night  sets  in.  Noon  is  the  common  time  for  feed- 
ing grain  or  roots,  and  is  the  best  time  if  but  two  fodderings  of 
hay  be  given.  If  the  sheep  receive  hay  three  times,  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  much  consequence  with  which  feeding  the  grain  is 
given,  only  that  the  practice  be  uniform. 

"It  is  also  highly  essential  that  there  be  regularity  preserved 
in  the  amount  fed.  The  consumption  of  hay  will,  it  is  true, 
depend  much  upon  the  weather.  The  keener  the  cold,  the 
more  sheep  will  eat.  In  the  South,  much  would  also  depend 
upon  the  amount  of  grass  obtained.  In  many  places  a  light, 


SHEEP.  87 

daily  foddering  would  suffice — in  others,  a  light  foddering 
placed  iu  the  depository  racks  once  in  two  days  would  answer 
the  purpose.  In  the  steady  cold  weather  of  the  North,  the 
shepherd  readily  learns  to  determine  about  how  much  hay  will 
be  consumed  before  the  next  foddering  time ;  and  this  is  the 
amount  which  should,  as  near  as  may  be,  be  regularly  fed.  In 
feeding  grain  or  roots  there  is  no  difficulty  in  preserving  entire 
regularity,  and  it  is  vastly  more  important  than  in  feeding  hay. 
Of  the  latter  a  sheep  wih1  not  over-eat  and  surfeit  itself;  of  the 
former  it  will.  And  if  not  fed  grain  to  the  point  of  surfeiting, 
but  still  over-plenteously,  it  will  expect  a  like  amount  at  the 
next  feeding,  and  failing  to  receive  it  will  pine  for  it  and  manifest 
uneasiness.  The  effect  of  such  irregularity  on  the  stomach  and 
system  of  any  animal  is  bad,  and  the  sheep  suffers  more  from 
it  than  any  other  animal.  I  would  much  rather  that  my  flock 
receive  no  grain  at  all  than  that  they  should  receive  it  without 
regard  to  regularity  in  the  amount.  The  shepherd  should  be  re- 
quired to  measure  out  the  grain  to  sheep  in  all  instances — instead 
of  guessing  it  out — and  to  measure  it  to  each  separate  flock. 

"  In  the  North  the  grass  often  gets  very  short  by  the  10th  or 
15th  of  November,  and  it  has  lost  much  of  its  nutritiousness 
from  repeated  freezing  and  thawing.  At  this  time,  though  no 
snow  has  yet  fallen,  it  is  best  to  give  the  sheep  a  light,  daily 
foddering  of  bright  hay,  or  a  few  oats  in  the  bundle.  Given 
thus  for  the  ten  or  twelve  days  which  precede  the  covering  of 
the  ground  by  snow,  fodder  pays  for  itself  as  well  as  at  any 
other  time  during  the  year." 

4.  Salt. — "  Salt,  in  my  judgment,  is  indispensable  to  the  health 
of  sheep,  particularly  in  the  summer  ;  and  I  know  not  a  flock- 
master  among  the  hundreds,  nay,  thousands  with  whom  I  am 
acquainted,  who  differs  with  me  in  this  opinion.     It  is  common 
to  give  it  once  a  week  while  the  sheep  are  at  grass. 

"It  is  still  better  to  give  them  free  access  to  salt  at  all  times 
by  keeping  it  in  a  covered  box,  open  on  one  side." 

5.  Water. — "  Water  is  not  indispensable  in  the  summer  pas- 
tures, the  dews  and  the  succulence  of  the  feed  answering  as  a 


88  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

substitute.  But  my  impression  is  decided  that  free  access  to 
water  is  advantageous  to  sheep,  particularly  to  those  having 
lambs ;  and  I  should  consider  it  a  matter  of  importance,  on  a 
sheep  farm,  to  arrange  the  pastures,  if  practicable,  so  as  to 
bring  water  into  each  of  them." 

6.  Shade. — u  No  one  who  has  observed  with  what  eagerness 
sheep  seek  shade  in  hot  weather,  and  how  they  pant  and 
apparently  suffer  when  a  hot  sun  is  pouring  down  on  their 
nearly  naked  bodies,  will  doubt  that,  both  as  a  matter  of  hu- 
manity and  utility,  they  should  be  provided,  during  the  hot 
summer  months,  with  a  better  shelter  than  that  afforded  by  a 
common  rail  fence.     Forest  trees  are  the  most  natural  and  best 
shades,  and  it  is  as  contrary  to  utility  as  it  is  to  good  taste  to 
strip  them  entirely  from  the  sheep-walks.     A  strip  of  stone 
wall  or  close  board  fence  on  the  south  and  west  sides  of  the 
pasture  will  form  a  passable  substitute  for  trees ;  but  in  the 
absence  of  all  these,  and  of  buildings  of  any  kind,  a  shade  can 
be  cheaply  constructed  of  poles  and  brush,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  sheds  of  the  same  materials  for  winter  shelter  already 
described." 

7.  Lambs. — "  Lambs  are  usually  dropped  in  the  North  from 
the  first  to  the  fifteenth  of  May.     In  the  South,  they  might 
safely  come  earlier.     It  is  not  expedient  to  have  them  dropped 
when  the  weather  is  cold  and  boisterous,  as  they  require  too 
much  care ;  but  the  sooner  the  better  after  the  weather  has 
become  mild,  and  the  herbage  has  started  sufficiently  to  give, 
the  ewes  that  green  food  which  is  required  to  produce  a  plenti- 
ful secretion  of  milk.     It  is  customary  in  the  North  to  have 
fields  of  clover,  or  the  earliest  of  grasses,  reserved  for  the  early 
spring  feed  of  the  breeding  ewes ;  and  if  these  can  be  contigu- 
ous to  their  shelters,  it  is  a  great  convenience— for  the  ewes 
should  be  confined  in  the  latter,  on  cold  and  stormy  nights, 
during  the  lambing  season. 

"  If  warm  and  pleasant,  and  the  nights  are  warmish,  I  prefer 
to  have  the  lambing  take  place  in  the  pastures.  I  think  sheep 
are  more  disposed  to  own  and  take  kindly  to  their  lambs  thus, 


SHEEP.  89 

than  in  the  confusion  of  a  small  inclosure.  Unless  particularly 
docile,  sheep  in  a  small  inclosure  crowd  from  one  side  to  another 
when  any  one  enters,  running  over  young  lambs,  and  pressing 
them  severely,  etc.  Ewes  get  separated  from  their  lambs,  and 
then  run  violently  round  from  one  to  another,  jostling  and 
knocking  them  about.  Young  and  timid  ewes  get  separated 
from  their  lambs,  and  frequently  will  neglect  them  for  an  hour 
or  more  before  they  will  again  approach  them.  If  the  weather 
is  severely  cold,  $he  lamb,  if  it  has  never  sucked,  stands  a 
chance  to  perish.  Lambs,  too,  when  just  dropped,  in  a  dirty 
inclosure,  in  their  first  efforts  to  rise,  tumble  about,  and  the 
membrane  which  adheres  to  them  becomes  smeared  with  dirt 
and  dung — and  the  ewe  refuses  to  lick  them  dry,  which  much 
increases  the  hazard  of  freezing. 

"  Lambs  should  be  weaned  at  four  months  old.  It  is  better 
for  them  and  much  better  for  their  dams.  The  lambs  when 
taken  away  should  be  put  for  several  days  in  a  field  distant 
from  the  ewes,  that  they  may  not  hear  each  other's  bleatings. 
The  lambs  when  in  hearing  of  their  dams  continue  restless 
much  longer,  and  they  make  constant  and  frequently  successful 
efforts  to  crawl  through  the  fences  which  separate  them.  One 
or  two  tame  old  ewes  are  turned  into  the  field  with  them,  to 
teach  them  to  come  at  the  call,  find  salt  when  thrown  to  them, 
and  eat  grain,  etc.,  out  of  troughs  when  winter  approaches. 

"The  lambs  when  weaned  should  be  put  on  the  freshest  and 
tenderest  feed.  I  have  usually  reserved  for  mine  the  grass  and 
clover  sown,  the  preceding  spring,  on  the  grain  fields  which 
were  seeded  down. 

"  The  dams,  on  the  contrary,  should  be  put  for  a  fortnight  on 
short,  dry  feed,  to  stop  the  flow  of  milk.  They  should  be  looked 
to  once  or  twice,  and  should  the  bags  of  any  be  found  much 
distended,  the  milk  should  be  drawn  and  the  bag  washed  for  a 
little  time  in  cold  water.  But  on  short  feed  they  rarely  give 
much  trouble  in  this  particular.  When  properly  dried  off  they 
should  be  put  on  good  feed  to  recruit,  and  get  in  condition  for 
winter." 


90  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

8.  Emasculation  and  Docking. — "  These  should  usually  pre- 
cede washing,  as  at  that  period  the  oldest  lambs  will  be  about 
a  month  old,  and  it  is  safer  to  perform  the  operations  when 
they  are  a  couple  of  weeks  younger.     Dry,  pleasant  weather 
should  be  selected.     Castration  is  a  simple  and  safe  process. 
Let  a  man  hold  the  lamb  with  its  back  pressed  firmly  against 
his  breast  and  stomach,  and  all  four  legs  gathered  in  front  in 
his  hands.     Out  off  the  bottom  of  the  pouch,  free  the  testicle 
from  the  inclosing  membrane,  and  then  draw  it  steadily  out,  or 
clip  the  cord  with  a  knife,  if  it  does  not  snap  off  at  a  proper 
distance  from  the  testicle.     Some  shepherds  draw  both  testicles 
at  once  with  their  teeth.     It  is  common  to  drop  a  little  salt  into 
the  pouch.     Where  the  weather  is  very  warm,  some  touch  the 
end  of  the  pouch  (and  that  of  the  tail,  after  that  is  cut  off) 
with  an  ointment,  consisting  of  tar,  lard,  and  turpentine.     In 
ninety -nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  however,  they  will  do  just 
as  well,  here,  without  any  application. 

"  The  tail  should  be  cut  off,  say  one  and  a  half  inches  from  the 
body,  with  a  chisel  on  the  head  of  a  block,  the  skin  being  slid 
up  toward  the  body  with  a  finger  and  thumb,  so  that  it  will 
afterward  cover  the  end  of  the  stump.  Severed  with  a  knife, 
the  end  of  the  tail  being  grasped  with  one  of  the  hands  in  the 
ordinary  way,  a  naked  stump  is  left  which  takes  some  time  to 
heal. 

"It  may  occur  to  some  unused  to  keeping  sheep,  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  cut  off  the  tail.  If  left  on,  it  is  apt  to  collect 
filth,  and  if  the  sheep  purges,  it  becomes  an  intolerable  nui- 
sance. 

9.  Washing.— "  This  is  usually  done  here  about  the  first  of 
June.     The  climate  of  the  Southern  States  would  admit  of  its 
being  done  earlier.     The  rule  should  be  to  wait  until  the  water 
has  acquired  sufficient  warmth  for  bathing,  and  until  cold  rains 
and  storms,  and  cold  nights  are  no  longer  to  be  expected. 

10.  Shearing. — "  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  give  intel- 
ligible practical  instructions  which  would  guide  an  entire  nov- 
ice in  skillfully  shearing  a  sheep.     Practice  is  requisite.     The 


SHEEP.  91 

following  directions  from  the  American  Shepherd*  are  correct, 
and  are  as  plain,  perhaps,  as  they  can  he  made : 

"  '  The  shearer  may  place  the  sheep  on  that  part  of  the  floor 
assigned  to  him,  resting  on  its  rump,  and  himself  in  a  posture 
with  one  (his  right)  knee  on  a  cushion,  and  the  hack  of  the  animal 
resting  against  his  left  thigh.  He  grasps  the  shears  about  half- 
way from  the  point  to  the  bow,  resting  his  thumb  along  the 
blade,  which  affords  him  better  command  of  the  points.  He 
may  then  commence  cutting  the  wool  at  the  brisket,  and  pro- 
ceeding downward,  all  upon  the  sides  of  the  belly  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  ribs,  the  external  sides  of  both  thighs  to  the 
edges  of  the  flanks ;  then  back  to  the  brisket,  and  thence  up- 
ward, shearing  the  wool  from  the  breast,  front,  and  both  sides 
of  the  neck — but  not  yet  the  back  of  it — and  also  the  poll  or 
fore-part,  and  top  of  the  head.  Now  the  "jacket  is  opened"  of 
the  sheep,  and  its  position  and  that  of  the  shearer  is  changed,  by 
being  turned  flat  upon  its  side,  one  knee  of  the  shearer  resting 
on  the  cushion,  and  the  other  gently  pressing  the  fore-quarter 
of  the  animal,  to  prevent  any  struggling.  He  then  resumes 
cutting /upon  the  flank  and  ^ump,  and  thence  onward  to  the 
head.  Thus  one  side  is  complete.  The  sheep  is  then  turned 
on  to  the  other  side,  in  doing  which  great  care  is  requisite  to 
prevent  the  fleece  from  being  torn,  and  the  shearer  acts  as  upon 
the  other,  which  finishes.  He  must  then  take  his  sheep  near 
to  the  door  through  which  it  is  to  pass  out,  and  neatly  trim 
the  legs,  and  leave  not  a  solitary  lock  anywhere  as  a  harbor 
for  ticks.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  remove  from 
his  stand  to  trim,  otherwise  the  useless  stuff  from  the  legs  be- 
comes intermingled  with  the  fleece  wool.  In  the  use  of  the 
shears,  let  the  blades  be  laid  as  flat  to  the  skin  as  possible,  not 
lower  the  points  too  much,  nor  cut  more  than  from  one  to  two 
inches  at  a  clip,  frequently  not  so  much,  depending  on  the  part 
and  compactness  of  the  wool.' 

"  Cold  storms  sometimes  destroy  sheep,  in  this  latitude,  soon 

*  Pages  1T9, 180. 


92  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

after  shearing— particularly  the  delicate  Saxons.  I  have  known 
forty  or  fifty  perish  out  of  a  single  flock,  from  one  night's 
exposure.  The  remedy,  or  rather  the  preventive,  is  to  house 
them,  or  in  default  of  the  necessary  fixtures  to  effect  this,  to 
drive  them  into  dense  forests.  I  presume,  however,  this  would 
be  a  calamity  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  'sunny  South.'  "* 

V.— VALUE  OF  SHEEP  TO  THE  FAEMEE. 

The  following  suggestive  remarks  are  from  the  Country 
Gentleman,  and  are  worthy  of  every  reader's  attention : 

"  Sheep  are  profitable  to  the  farmer,  not  only  from  the  pro- 
duct of  wool  and  mutton,  but  from  the  tendency  which  their 
keeping  has  to  improve  and  enrich  his  land  for  all  agricultural 
purposes.  They  do  this  : 

"1.  By  the  consumption  of  food  refused  by  other  animals  in 
summer;  turning  waste  vegetation  to  use,  and  giving  rough 
and  bushy  pastures  a  smoother  appearance,  and  in  time  erad- 
icating wild  plants  so  that  good  grasses  and  white  clover  may 
take  their  place.  In  this  respect  sheep  are  of  especial  value  to 
pastures  on  soils  too  steep  or  stony  for  the  plow.  In  winter, 
the  coarser  parts  of  the  hay,  refused  by  horses  and  cows,  are 
readily  eaten  by  sheep,  while  other  stock  will  generally  eat 
most  of  that  left  by  these  animals. 

"  For  these  reasons,  among  others,  no  grazing  farm  should  be 
without  at  least  a  small  flock  of  sheep,  for  it  has  been  found 
that  as  large  a  number  of  cattle  and  horses  can  be  kept  with 
as  without  them,  and  without  any  injury  to  the  farm  for  other 
purposes.  A  small  flock,  we  said — perhaps  half  a  dozen  to 
each  horse  and  cow  would  be  the  proper  proportion.  A  va- 


*  Sheep  Husbandry ;  with  an  Account  of  the  Different  Breeds  and  General 
Directions  in  regard  to  Summer  and  Winter  Management,  Breeding,  and 
Treatment  of  Diseases.  With  Portraits  and  other  Engravings.  By  Henry  S. 
Randall.  New  York :  A.  O.  Moore.  This  work  is  bound  with  "  Youatt  on 
the  Sheep,"  under  the  general  title  of  "  The  Shepherd's  Own  Book,"  and  the 
volume  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  one  who  would  make  sheep-breeding 
hia  principal  business. 


SHEEP.  93 

riety  of  circumstances  would  influence  this  point ;  such  as  the 
character  of  the  pasturage,  and  the  proportion  of  the  same 
fitted  and  desirahle  for  tillage. 

"  2.  Sheep  enrich  land  by  the  manufacture  of  considerable 
quantities  of  excellent  manure.  A  farmer  of  long  experience 
in  sheep  husbandry,  thought  there  was  no  manure  so  fertilizing 
as  that  of  sheep,  and  (of  which  there  is  no  doubt)  that  none 
dropped  by  the  animal  upon  the  land  suffered  so  little  by  waste 
from  exposure.  A  German  agricultural  writer  has  calculated 
that  the  droppings  from  one  thousand  sheep  during  a  single 
night  would  manure  an  acre  sufficiently  for  any  crop.  By  using 
a  portable  fence,  and  moving  the  same  from  time  to  time,  a 
farmer  might  manure  a  distant  field  with  sheep  at  less  expense 
than  that  of  carting  and  spreading  barn  manure. 

"The  value  of  sheep  to  the  farmer  is  much  enhanced  by  due 
attention  to  their  wants.  Large  flocks  kept  together  are  sel- 
dom profitable,  while  small  assorted  flocks  always  pay  well,  if 
fed  as  they  should  be.  To  get  good  fleeces  of  wool,  and  large, 
healthy  lambs  from  poor  neglected  sheep,  is  impossible.  It  is 
also  true  that  the  expense  of  keeping  is  often  least  with  the 
flocks  that  are  always  kept  in  good  condition.  The  eye  and 
thought  of  the  owner  are  far  more  necessary  than  large  and 
irregular  supplies  of  fodder.  Division  of  the  flock  and  shelter, 
with  straw  and  a  little  grain,  will  bring  them  through  to  spring 
pastures  in  far  better  order  than  if  kept  together,  with  double 
rations  of  hay,  one  half  of  which  is  wasted  by  the  stronger 
animals,  while  the  weak  of  the  flock  pick  up  but  a  scanty  liv- 
ing, and  oftentimes  fail  to  get  that  through  the  whole  winter. 

"  We  commend  this  subject  to  the  consideration  of  our  corre- 
spondents ;  it  is  one  which  needs  greater  attention  on  the  part 
of  the  farming  public." 

VI.— AFFECTION  OF  THE  EWE. 

The  Ettrick  Shepherd  tells  the  following  story  of  the  con- 
tinued affection  of  the  ewe  for  her  dead  lamb : 

"  One  of  the  two  years  while  I  remained  on  the  farm  at  Wil- 


94  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

lenslee  a  severe  blast  of  snow  came  on  by  night,  about  the  lat- 
ter end  of  April,  which  destroyed  several  scores  of  our  lambs, 
and  as  we  had  not  enow  of  twins  and  odd  lambs  for  the  mothers 
that  had  lost  theirs,  of  course  we  selected  the  best  ewes  and 
put  lambs  to  them.  As  we  were  making  the  distribution,  I 
requested  of  my  master  to  spare  me  a  lamb  for  a  ewe  which  he 
knew,  and  which  was  standing  over  a  dead  lamb  in  the  end  of 
the  hope,  about  four  miles  from  the  house.  He  would  not  let 
me  do  it,  but  bid  me  let  her  stand  over  her  lamb  for  a  day  or 
two,  and  perhaps  a  twin  would  be  forthcoming.  I  did  so,  and 
faithfully  she  did  stand  to  her  charge.  I  visited  her  every  morn- 
ing and  evening  for  the  first  eight  days,  and  never  found  her 
above  two  or  three  yards  from  the  lamb  ;  and  often  as  I  went 
my  rounds,  she  eyed  me  long  ere  I  came  near  her,  and  kept 
stamping  with  her  foot,  and  whistling  through  her  nose,  to 
frighten  away  the  dog.  He  got  a  regular  chase  twice  a  day  as  I 
passed  by ;  but  however  excited  and  fierce  a  ewe  may  be,  she 
never  offers  any  resistance  to  mankind,  being  perfectly  and 
meekly  passive  to  them. 

"  The  weather  grew  fine  and  warm,  and  the  dead  lamb  soon 
decayed ;  but  still  this  affectionate  and  desolate  creature  kept 
hanging  over  the  poor  remains  with  an  attachment  that  seemed 
to  be. nourished  by  hopelessness.  It  often  drew  tears  from  my 
eyes  to  see  her  hanging  with  such  fondness  over  a  few  bones, 
mixed  with  a  small  portion  of  wool.  For  the  first  fortnight 
she  never  quitted  the  spot ;  and  for  another  week  she  visited 
it  every  morning  and  evening,  uttering  a  few  kindly  and  heart- 
piercing  bleats ;  till  at  length  every  remnant  of  her  offspring 
vanished,  mixing  with  the  soil,  or  wafted  away  by  the  winds." 


SWINE. 


95 


V. 

SWINE, 


Where  oft  the  swine,  from  ambush  warm  and  dry, 
Bolt  out  and  scamper  headlong  to  their  sty.— Bloomjltld. 

I.-NATUKAL  HISTOET. 

HE  hog  (Suidcs  sus  of  Linnaeus),  according  to 
Cuvier,  belongs  to  "the  class  Mammalia,  order 
Pachydermata,  genus  Suidce  or  sus." 

Professor  Low  remarks,  that  "  the  hog  is  sub- 
ject to  remarkable  changes  of  form  and  charac- 
ters, according  to  the  situation  in  which  he  is  placed.  When 
these  characters  assume  a  certain  degree  of  permanence,  a 
breed  or  variety  is  formed ;  and  there  is  no  one  of  the  domes- 
tic animals  which  more  easily  receives  the  characters  we  de- 
sire to  impress  upon  it.  This  arises  from  its  rapid  powers  of 
increase,  and  the  constancy  with  which  the  characters  of  the 
parents  are  reproduced  in  the  progeny. 

There  is  no  kind  of  livestock  that  can  be  so  easily  im- 
proved by  the  breeder  and  so  quickly  rendered  suited  to  the 
purposes  required;  and  the  same  characters  of  external  form 
indicate  in  the  hog  a  disposition  to  arrive  at  early  maturity  of 
muscle  and  fat  as  in  the  ox  and  the  sheep.  The  body  is  long  in 
proportion  to  the  limbs,  or,  in  other  words,  the  limbs  are  short 
in  proportion  to  the  body  ;  the  extremities  are  free  from  coarse- 
ness; the  chest  is  broad  and  the  trunk  round.  Possessing 
these  characteristics,  the  hog  never  fails  to  arrive  at  early  ma- 
turity, and  with  a  smaller  consumption  of  food  than  when  he 
possesses  a  different  conformation." 

The  wild  boar,  which  was  undoubtedly  the  progenitor  of  all 
the  European  varieties,  and  also  of  the  Chinese  breed,  was  for- 


96  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

merly  a  native  of  the  British  Islands,  and  very  common  in  the 
forests  until  the  time  of  the  civil  wars  in  England. 

The  wild  hog  is  now  spread  over  the  temperate  and  warmer 
parts  of  the  old  continent  and  its  adjacent  islands.  His  color 
varies  with  age  and  climate,  but  is  generally  a  dusky  brown 
with  black  spots  and  streaks.  His  skin  is  covered  with  coarse 
hairs  or  bristles,  intersected  with  soft  wool,  and  with  coarser 
and  longer  bristles  upon  the  neck  and  spine,  which  he  erects 
when  in  anger.  He  is  a  very  bold  and  powerful  creature,  and 
becomes  more  fierce  and  indocile  with  age.  From  the  form  of 
his  teeth  he  is  chiefly  herbivorous  in  his  habits,  and  delights  in 
roots,  which  his  acute  sense  of  smell  and  touch  enables  him  to 
discover  beneath  the  surface.  He  also  feeds  upon  animal  sub- 
stances, such  as  worms  and  larvae  which  he  grubs  up  from  the 
ground,  the  eggs  of  birds,  small  reptiles,  the  young  of  animals, 
and  occasionally  carrion ;  he  even  attacks  venomous  snakes  with 
impunity. 

The  female  produces  a  litter  but  once  a  year,  and  in  much 
smaller  numbers  than  when  domesticated.  She  usually  carries 
her  young  for  four  months  or  sixteen  weeks. 

In  a  wild  state  the  hog  has  been  known  to  live  more  than 
thirty  years ;  but  when  domesticated  he  is  usually  slaughtered 
for  bacon  before  he  is  two  years  old,  and  boars  killed  for  brawn 
seldom  reach  to  the  age  of  five.  "When  the  wild  hog  is  tamed, 
it  undergoes  the  following  among  other  changes  in  its  conforma- 
tion. The  ears  become  less  movable,  not  being  required  to 
collect  distant  sounds.  The  formidable  tusks  of  the  male 
diminish,  not  being  necessary  for  self-defense.  The  muscles  of 
the  neck  become  less  developed,  from  not  being  so  much  exer- 
cised as  in  the  natural  state.  The  head  becomes  more  inclined, 
the  back  and  loins  are  lengthened,  the  body  rendered  more 
capacious,  the  limbs  shorter  and  less  muscular ;  and  anatomy 
proves  that  the  stomach  and  intestinal  canals  have  also  become 
proportionately  extended  along  with  the  form  of  the  body. 
The  habits  and  instincts  of  the  animal  change ;  it  becomes  diur- 
nal in  its  habits,  not  choosing  the  night  for  its  search  of  food ; 


9T 

is  more  insatiate  in  its  appetite,  and  the  tendency  to  obesity 
increases. 

The  male  forsaking  its  solitary  habits,  becomes  gregarious, 
and  the  female  produces  her  young  more  frequently,  and  in 
larger  numbers.  With  its  diminished  strength  and  power  of 
active  motion,  the  animal  also  loses  its  desire  for  liberty.  These 
changes  of  form,  appetites,  and  habits,  being  communicated 
to  its  progeny,  a  new  race  of  animals  is  produced,  better 
suited  to  their  altered  condition.  The  wild  hog,  after  it  has 
been  domesticated,  does  not  appear  to  revert  to  its  former  state 
and  habits ;  at  least  the  swine  of  South  America,  carried  thith- 
er by  the  Spaniards,  which  have  escaped  to  the  woods,  retain 
their  gregarious  habits,  and  have  not  become  wild  boars-.* 

II.— OPINIONS  KE3PECTING  THE  HOG. 

From  the  various  allusions  to  the  hog  in  the  writings  of  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  it  is  plain  that  its  flesh  was  held 
in  high  esteem  among  those  nations.  The  Romans  even  mado 
the  breeding,  rearing,  and  fattening  pigs  a  study,  which  they 
designated  as  Porculatio. 

Varro  states  that  the  Gauls  produced  the  largest  and  finest 
swine's  flesh  that  was  brought  into  Italy ;  and  according  to 
Strabo,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  they  supplied  Rome  and 
nearly  all  Italy  with  gammons,  hog-puddings,  and  sausages* 
This  nation  and  the  Spaniards  appear  to  have  kept  immense 

droves  of  swine,  but  scarcely  any  other  kind  of  livestock 

In  fact,  the  hog  was  held  in  very  high  esteem  by  all  the  early 
nations  of  Europe ;  and  some  of  the  ancients  have  even  paid  it 
divine  honors.! 

On  the  other  hand,  swine's  flesh  has  been  held  in  utter  abhor- 
rence by  the  Jews  since  the  time  of  Moses,  in  whose  laws  they 
were  forbidden  to  make  use  of  it  as  food.  The  Egyptians  also 
and  the  followers  of  Mohammed  have  religiously  abstained  from 
it.  Paxton,  in  his  "  Illustrations  of  Scripture,"  says  : 

*  American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia.  t  Touatt. 

5 


98  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

"The  hog  was  justly  classed  by  the  Jews  among  the  vilest 
animals  in  the  scale  of  animated  nature ;  and  it  can  not  he 
doubted  that  his  keeper  shared  in  the  contempt  and  abhorrence 
which  he  had  excited.  The  prodigal  son  in  the  parable  had 
spent  his  ah1  in  riotous  living,  and  was  ready  to  perish 
through  want,  before  he  submitted  to  the  humiliating  employ- 
ment of  feeding  swine." 

"Swine,"  Heroditus  says,  "are  accounted  such  impure  beasts 
by  the  Egyptians,  that  if  a  man  touches  one  even  by  accident, 
he  presently  hastens  to  the  river  and,  in  all  his  clothes,  plunges 
into  the  water.  For  this  reason  swine-herds  alone  of  the 
Egyptians  are  not  allowed  to  enter  any  of  their  temples ;  neither 
will  any  one  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  one  of  that  pro- 
fession, nor  take  a  wife  born  of  such  parents,  so  that  they  are 
necessitated  to  intermarry  among  themselves." 

The  Brahminical  tribes  of  India  share  with  the  Jews,  Moham- 
medans, and  Egyptians  this  aversion  to  the  hog.  The  modern 
Copts,  descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  rear  no  swine,  arid 
the  Jews  of  the  present  day  abstain  from  their  flesh  as  of  old. 

It  was  Ouvier's  opinion  that  "in  hot  climates  the  flesh  of 
swine  is  not  good;"  and  Mr.  Sonnini  remarks  that  "  in  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  even  the  southern  parts  of  Greece,  this  meat,  though 
very  white  and  delicate,  is  so  far  from  being  firm,  and  is  so 
overcharged  with  fat,  that  it  disagrees  with  the  strongest 
stomachs.  It  is  therefore  considered  unwholesome,  and  this 
will  account  for  its  proscription  by  the  legislators  and  priests 
of  the  East.  Such  abstinence  was  doubtless  indispensable  to 
health  under  the  burning  suns  of  Arabia  and  Egypt."  HOAV 
is  it  under  the  burning  suns  of  Carolina  and  Georgia  ? 

III.-BKEEDS. 

The  various  breeds  which  have  been  reared  by  crosses  be- 
tween those  procured  from  different  countries  are  so  numerous, 
that  to  give  anything  like  a  detailed  description  of  them  would 
fill  a  large  volume.  We  shall  refer  to  only  a  ftnv  of  the  more 
important  of  them. 


SWINE.  99 

1.  The  Land  Pike. — The  old  common  breed  of  the  country, 
sometimes  called  "land-pikes,"  may  be  described  as  "large, 
rough,  long-nosed,  big-boned,  thin-backed,  slab-sided,  long-leg- 

Fig.  26. 


THE  LAND  PIKE  HOG. 

ged,  ravenous,  ugly  animals."  Speaking  of  this  race,  A.  B.  Allen 
says:  "No  reasonable  fence  can  stop  them,  but,  ever  restive 
and  uneasy,  they  rove  about  seeking  for  plunder ;  swilling 
grunting,  rooting,  pawing ;  always  in  mischief  and  always  de- 
stroying. The  more  a  man  possesses  of  such  stock  the  worse 
he  is  off."  But  this  breed  is  rapidly  disappearing.  Crosses 
between  the  land-pike  and  the  Chinese  or  the  Berkshire  pro- 
ducing a  fine  animal,  the  original  breed  is  being  very  generally 
improved. 

2.  The  Chinese  Breed. — This  breed  was  introduced  into  this 
country  from  China  some  forty  years  ago.  The  Chinese  hog  is 
small  in  limb,  round  in  body,  short  in  head,  and  very  broad  in 
cheek.  When  fattened,  it  looks  quite  out  of  proportion,  the 
head  appearing  to  be  buried  in  the  neck,  so  that  only  the  tip  of 
the  nose  is  visible.  It  has  an  exceedingly  thin  skin  and  fine 
bristles. 

The  pure-blooded  Chinese  hog  has  been  bred  to  only  a  limited 
extent  in  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  its 
size  (it  seldom  attaining  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds),  and  its  lack  of  hardiness  in  a  cold  climate.  In  this 
last  respect,  however,  it  is  well  adapted  to  the  South.  Crossed 


100  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

with  the  native  hog  it  forms  an  excellent  breed,  which  we  ma/ 
call  the  improved  China  breed.  Hogs  of  this  mixed  breed  are 
various  in  color — black,  white,  spotted,  and  gray  and  white ; 
they  are  longer  in  body  than  the  pure  Chinese  breed ;  small  in 
the  head  and  legs ;  broad  in  the  back ;  round  in  the  body ;  the 
hams  well  let  down ;  skin  thin ;  flesh  delicate  and  finely  flavor- 
ed. They  are  easy  keepers ;  small  consumers ;  quiet  in  dis- 
position ;  not  disposed  to  roam ;  and  when  in  condition  may  be 
kept  so  upon  grass  only. 

3.  The  Berkshire  Breed. — This  was  one  of  the  earliest  im- 
proved of  the  English  breeds,  and  is  deemed  by  many  the  most 
excellent  of  all  the  varieties  at  present  known.  It  is  certainly 
the  most  widely  distributed  and  most  generally  approved.  It 
is  a  breed  which  is  distinguished  by  being,  in  general,  of  a 
tawny  white,  or  rufous-brown  color,  spotted  with  black  or 
brown ;  head  well  placed,  large  ears,  generally  standing  forward, 
though  sometimes  hanging  over  the  eyes;  body  thick,  close, 
and  well  made ;  legs  short,  small  in  the  bone ;  coat  rough  and 
curly,  wearing  the  appearance  of  indicating  both  skin  and  flesh 
of  a  coarse  quality.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  case,  for  they 

Fig.  2T. 


THE  BERKSHIBB  HOG. 

have  a  disposition  to  fatten  quickly :  nothing  can  be  finer  than 
the  bacon,  and  the  animals  attain  to  a  very  great  size. 


SWINE. 


101 


The  Berkshires,  from  which  most  of  the  present  American 
stock  has  sprung,  were  imported  in  1822.  The  hreed  has  spread 
very  rapidly  over  the  country. 

Fig.  28. 


THE  SUFFOLK  HOG. 

4.  The  Suffolk  Breed. — The  improved  Suffolk  breed  originated 
in  a  cross  between  the  original  Suffolk  hog  and  the  Chinese. 
It  is  a  very  valuable  breed,  but  much  smaller  in  size  than  the 
Berkshire.  The  Suffolks  are  thick  through  the  shoulders,  very 
handsomely  proportioned  in  body,  and  possessing  beautiful 
hams.  Their  color  is  either  white  or  light  flesh  color,  when 
of  the  pure  breed,  and  they  are  indeed  aa  ornament  to  the 
farm. 

It  is  said  that  they  are  less  inclined  to  cutaneous  diseases 
than  numerous  others,  and  do  not,  under  any  circumstances, 
produce  that  strong,  musky  flavored  pork  we  sometimes  find  in 
market.  They  are  not  a  gross,  unwieldy  animal,  generally 
ranging  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds 


102 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


weight  at  twelve  months  of  age,  which  latter  weight  they  sel- 
dom exceed.  They  are  clean  feeders,  and  require  much  less 
than  any  other  breed  known. 

For  large  hogs,  a  cross  between  these  and  the  Berkshire  is 
very  desirable,  and  is  preferred  by  Western  breeders  ;  but  for  a 
small  breeder,  or  for  family  use,  the  pure  Suffolks  are  prefer- 
able.* 

5.  The  Essex  Breed. — The  Essex  hogs  are  mostly  black  and 
white,  the  head  arid  hinder  parts  being  black  and  the  back  and 
belly  white.  The  most  esteemed  Essex  breeds,  Youatt  says, 
are  entirely  black,  and  are  distinguished  by  having  small  teat- 
like  appendages  of  the  skin  depending  from  the  under  part  of 
the  neck.  They  have  smaller  heads  than  the  Berkshire  hogs, 
and  long,  thin,  upright  ears ;  short  bristles ;  a  fine  skin  ;  good 
hind  quarters,  and  a  deep,  round  carcass.  They  are  also  small 
boned,  and  their  flesh  is  delicately  flavored.  They  produce 
large  litters,  but  are  reputed  bad  nurses. 


Fig.  29. 


THE  ESSEX  HOG. 

6.    The    Chester  Breed. — This  breed  originated  in  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  and  is  not  so  widely  known  as,  according 

*  Country  Gentleman. 


SWINE.  103 

to  all  accounts,  it  deserves  to  be.  A  correspondent  of  the  Coun- 
try Gentleman  gives  the  following  account  of  the  Chester  hog: 

"  The  Chester  hog  is  the  result  of  continued  careful  breeding 
and  judicious  crossing  in  this  county  during  the  last  thirty -five 
or  forty  years.  The  first  impulse  to  this  improvement,  it  is 
said,  was  the  importation  of  a  pair  of  handsome  hogs  from 
China,  some  forty  years  since,  by  a  sea-captain  then  residing  in 
this  vicinity.  Of  late  years,  however,  many  of  our  breeders 
have  been  laboring  to  bring  the  Chester  hog  up  to  an  acknowl- 
edged standard  of  excellence — to  define  its  points,  and  make  it 
as  distinctive  in  character,  and  as  easily  recognized,  as  a  Berk- 
shire or  Suffolk.  Their  efforts,  we  think,  have  been  successful. 

"  The  genuine  Chester  is  a  pure  white,  long  body  and  square 
built,  with  small,  fine  bone,  and  will  produce  a  greater  weight 
of  pork,  for  the  amount  of  food  consumed,  than  any  other  breed 
yet  tried  among  us.  A  very  important  characteristic  of  the 
breed  is,  that  it  will  readily  fatten  at  any  age.  Many  hogs,  it 
is  well  known,  will  not  fatten  while  they  are  growing,  or  until 
they  have  reached  their  full  size. 

"  The  average  weight  of  the  Chester  stock,  at  sixteen  months 
old,  is  from  500  to  600  Ibs.,  and  when  kept  till  two  years  old, 
they  frequently  run  up  to  TOO  and  800  Ibs.  Our  spring  pigs, 
when  killed  the  following  fall,  weigh  from  300  to  400  Ibs., 
which  is  considered  the  most  desirable  weight  for  pork — pro- 
ducing hams  of  a  more  salable  size  and  better  quality.  As  a 
general  rule,  our  farmers  do  not  care  to  have  their  hogs  weigh 
over  350  to  400  Ibs.  To  reach  this  weight  at  nine  months  old, 
our  hogs,  of  course,  must  be  well  fed.  The  Chester  is  not  dif- 
erent  from  other  stock  in  this  respect — to  thrive  well,  it  must 
be  well  taken  care  of. 

"Experiments  have  been  made  in  crossing  the  Chester  with 
other  breeds — such  as  the  Berkshire,  Suffolk,  etc.,  and  the  re- 
sult has  been  an  inferior  stock  to  the  pure  Chester.  It  dot's 
improve  the  Berkshires  to  cross  them  with  the  Chester,  but 
we  have  found  no  advantage  in  crossing  the  Chester  with  any 
other." 


104  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

IV.-POINTS. 

"There  is  evidently  much  diversity  in  swine  in  different 
circumstances  and  situations.  Like  other  descriptions  of  stock, 
they  should  be  selected  with  especial  reference  to  the  nature 
of  the  climate,  the  keep,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  manage- 
ment under  which  the  farm  is  conducted.  The  chief  points  to 
be  consulted  in  judging  of  the  breeds  of  this  animal  are  the 
form  or  shape  of  the  ear,  and  the  quality  of  the  hair.  The 
pendulous  or  lop  ear,  and  coarse,  harsh  hair,  are  commonly 
asserted  to  indicate  largeness  of  size  and  thickness  of  skin ; 
while  erect  or  prick  ears  show  the  size  to  be  smaller,  but  the 
animals  to  be  more  quick  in  feeding. 

"  In  the  selection  of  swine,  the  best  formed  are  considered 
to  be  those  which  are  not  too  long,  but  full  in  the  head  and 
cheek ;  thick  and  rather  short  in  the  neck ;  fine  in  the  bone ; 
thick,  plump,  and  compact  in  the  carcass ;  full  in  the  quarters, 
fine  and  thin  in  the  hide;  and  of  a  good  size  according  to  the 
breed,  with,  above  all,  a  kindly  disposition  to  fatten  well  and 
expeditiously  at  an  early  age.  Depth  of  carcass,  lateral  exten- 
sion, breadth  of  the  loin  arid  breast,  proportionate  length,  mod- 
erate shortness  of  the  legs,  and  substance  of  the  gammons  and 
fore-arms,  are  therefore  absolute  essentials.  These  are  quali- 
ties to  produce  a  favorable  balance  in  the  account  of  keep,  and 
a  mass  of  weight  which  will  pull  the  scale  down.  In  propor- 
tion, too,  as  the  animal  is  capacious  in  the  loin  and  breast,  will 
be  generally  the  vigor  of  his  constitution ;  his  legs  will  be 
thence  properly  distended,  and  he  will  have  a  bold  and  firm 
footing  on  the  ground.'1* 

V.— FEEDING. 

Have  regular  hours  for  feeding  your  hogs ;  nothing  is  more 
important.  Irregularity  irritates  the  digestive  organs,  and 
prevents  the  system  from  receiving  the  full  benefit  of  the  meal 
when  it  does  come.  Do  not  give  them  too  much  food  at  once, 

*  American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia. 


SWINE.  105 

as  they  are  apt  to  gorge  themselves ;  or,  if  any  be  left  in  the 
trough,  to  return  to  it  frequently  till  it  is  all  gone.  In  both 
cases  their  digestive  organs,  and  consequently  their  ability  to 
fatten,  are  impaired. 

Swine  will  eat  animal  food,  but  it  is  not  favorable  to  the 
flavor  of  their  flesh,  and  should  always  be  withheld  while  they 
are  fattening. 

Pigs  always  eat  more  when  first  put  up  to  fatten  than  they 
do  afterward,  therefore  the  most  nutritious  food  should  be  re- 
served till  they  are  getting  pretty  fat. 

In  reference  to  fattening  the  hog,  a  writer  in  the  Boston 
Cultivator  remarks : 

u  If  circumstances  are  favorable,  he  is  inclined  to  lay  up  such 
a  supply  of  fat  during  antumn  as  would  render  it  unnecessary 
for  him  to  undergo  much  exercise  or  exposure  during  inclement 
weather.  With  plenty  of  lard  oil  to  keep  his  lamp  burning, 
he  would  prefer  dozing  in  a  bed  of  leaves  in  the  forest  while 
the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  rather  than  to  grub  daily  for 
a  living.  He  fattens  most  rapidly  in  such  a  state  of  the  atmo- 
sphere as  is  most  congenial  to  his  comfort — neither  too  hot  nor 
too  cold;  hence  the  months  of  September  and  October  are 
best  fbr  making  pork.  The  more  agreeable  the  weather,  the 
less  is  the  amount  of  food  required  to  supply  the  waste  of  life. 

"  Against  fattening  hogs  so  early  in  the  season,  it  may  bo 
objected  that  Indian  corn,  the  crop  chiefly  depended  on  for  the 
purpose,  is  not  matured.  Taking  everything  into  considera- 
tion, it  may  be  better  to  begin  to  feed  corn  before  it  is  ripe,  or 
even  at  the  stage  of  considerable  greenness.  After  the  plant 
has  blossomed  it  possesses  a  considerable  degree  of  sweetness ; 
hogs  will  chew  it,  swallow  the  juice,  and  leave  nothing  but  the 
dry  fibrous  matter,  which  they  eject  from  their  mouths  when 
no  more  sweetness  can  be  extracted.  They  thrive  on  this 
fodder,  and  will  continue. to  eat  it  till  the  nutriment  is  concen- 
trated in  the  ear,  and  then  they  will  eat  the  cofr  and  grain 
together  till  the  cob  gets  hard  and  dry.  Farmers  who  have 
practiced  this  mode  of  feeding  consider  it  more  advantageous 

5* 


106  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

than  to  leave  the  whole  crop  to  ripen,  unless  they  have  a  sup- 
ply of  old  corn  to  feed  with.  Even  in  the  latter  case,  it  is 
questionable  whether  hogs  will  not  do  better  on  corn  some- 
what green  than  they  would  on  hard  corn,  unground.  True, 
it  is  not  necessary  that  corn  should  be  fed  unground,  but  much 
is  fed  in  this  condition,  no  doubt  at  a  loss. 

"  In  many  parts  of  the  country,  swine  are  fed  considerably 
on  articles  which  are  not  readily  marketable,  as  imperfect 
fruits,  vegetables,  etc.  Where  such  articles  are  used,  cooking 
them  is  generally  economical.  A  mixture  of  squashes  (either 
summer  or  winter  squashes),  pumpkins — the  nearer  ripe  the 
better — potatoes,  beets,  and  apples,  boiled  or  steamed,  and  a 
fourth  or  an  eighth  of  their  bulk  of  meal  stirred  in  while  the 
mass  is  hot,  forms  a  dish  on  which  hogs  will  fatten  fast.  If 
skimmed  milk  or  whey  can  be  had,  the  cooked  food  may  be 
put  with  it  into  a  suitable  tub  or  vat,  and  a  slight  degree  of 
fermentation  allowed  to  take  place  before  the  whole  is  fed  out. 
The  animals  will  eat  it  with  avidity,  and  probably  derive  more 
benefit  from  it  than  if  it  had  not  been  fermented.  Articles 
which  are  of  a  perishable  nature  should  be  used  first  in  fatten- 
ing swine,  in  order  to  prevent  waste  and  turn  all  the  products 
of  the  farm  to  the  best  account. 

"  Another  quite  important  advantage  of  early  feeding  is  the 
less  trouble  in  regard  to  cooking  the  food  and  keeping  it  in 
proper  condition  to  feed  out.  The  cooking  may  be  done  out 
of  doors,  if  convenience  of  feeding  would  be  promoted  by  it, 
and  there  is  no  expense  or  trouble  to  guard  the  food  against 
freezing." 

The  manner  of  fattening  hogs,  where  Indian  corn  is  used,  as 
at  the  South  and  West,  is  to  put  them  up  in  large,  open  pens 
on  the  ground,  without  litter  and  without  shelter.  Here  they 
are  left  to  burrow  and  sleep  in  mud  and  mire,  exposed  to  all 
weathers,  consuming,  probably,  before  they  get  "ripe  fat,"  one 
third  if  not  half  more  than  would  be  necessary  were  they  shel- 
tered in  a  warm  pen,  with  clean  litter,  clean  water,  and  rich 
in  abundance,  free  alike  from  exposure  and  excitement. 


SWINE.  107 

An  ample  supply  of  good  drinking  water  should  be  kept 
within  the  reach  of  every  animal. 

VI.— THE  PIGGERY. 

In  constructing  a  piggery,  reference  should  be  had  to  the 
comfort  of  the  animals  as  well  as  to  convenience  in  feeding 
them.  It  should  be  large,  airy,  and  well- ventilated,  and  should 
have  (at  least  in  a  large  establishment)  conveniences  for  cook- 
ing their  food.  It  should  by  all  means  be  comfortable  and  clean. 
It  has  been  generally  believed  that  the  hog  is  naturally  a  filthy 
animal,  delighting  in  mud  and  mire.  This  is  certainly,  in  part 
at  least,  untrue.  No  animal  more  fully  appreciates  a  clean,  dry 
bed.  To  illustrate  the  value  of  cleanliness,  a  gentleman  in 
Norfolk  (England)  put  up  six  pigs  of  almost  exactly  the  same 
weight,  and  all  in  equal  health  to  fatten ;  treated  them  all, 
except  in  one  particular,  exactly  alike,  giving  equal  quantities 
of  the  same  food  to  each  for  seven  weeks.  Three  of  these  pigs 
were  left  to  shift  for  themselves,  so  far  as  cleanliness  is  con- 
cerned, while  the  other  three  were  carefully  curried,  brushed, 
and  washed.  The  latter  consumed,  during  the  seven  weeks, 
less  food  by  five  bushels  than  the  former,  and  yet,  when  killed, 
weighed  more  by  thirty-two  pounds  on  an  average.  [For  a 
plan  for  a  piggery,  see  "  The  House."] 


108  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


VI. 

IMPROVEMENT  OP  BREEDS. 

Like  produces  like, 

I.— SELECTION. 

ITH  such  examples  before  us  as  are  furnished 
by  the  English  Race  Horse,  the  Durham  Cow, 
and  the  South-Down  sheep,  where  shall  we 
place  limits  to  the  improvability  of  our  various 
domestic  animals?  The  ameliorations  through 
which  these  improved  breeds  have  been  established  were  not 
accidental.  They  took  place  according  to  the  fixed  laws  of 
animal  life,  brought  to  bear  by  the  intelligence  of  man  upon 
special  points  and  for  special  objects.  Other  breeds  even  bet- 
ter than  these  may  be  produced  by  similar  means.  Bakewell, 
Culley,  Seabright,  Jaques,  Knight,  and  other  distinguished 
breeders  and  improvers  of  stock,  have  made  use  of  no  patented 
or  secret  process.  "What  they  have  done,  any  intelligent  farmer 
may  do  by  the  use  of  the  same  easily  available  means.  To 
furnish  a  few  hints  in  reference  to  these  means  is  the  purpose 
of  this  chapter. 

In  setting  about  originating  a  new  breed  of  any  particular 
species  of  animal,  the  first  grand  point  is  the  selection  of  sire 
and  dam.  This  must  be  made  with  reference  to  the  particular 
qualities  to  which  you  desire  to  give  prominence,  as  well  as  to 
the  general  excellence  of  constitution,  form,  and  disposition 
which  should  distinguish  the  species.  Thus  Colonel  Jaques, 
in  originating  the  Cream-Pot  breed  of  cows,  already  referred 
to,  had  the  dairy  and  not  the  butcher  in  view,  and  took  his 
measures  accordingly.  The  results  of  a  continued  selection  of 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  BREEDS.  109 

breeders  with  reference  to  their  qualities  as  milkers  has  been 
the  establishment  of  a  permanent  breed  distinguished  probably 
above  all  others  as  dairy  cows.  So  the  sheep  breeders  of 
England,  having  the  production  of  mutton  as  their  principal 
object,  have  produced  the  New  Leicester,  the  South-Down,  and 
the  New  Oxfordshire  breeds,  distinguished  for  form,  size,  flavor, 
and  fattening  qualities  ;  while  the  Spanish  and  German  breed- 
ers of  Merinos,  caring  only  for  the  wool,  have  given  their  breeds 
pre-eminently  excellent  fleeces.  Breeding  carefully  for  a  few 
generations  with  a  distinct  purpose  in  view,  will  not  fail  to  pro- 
duce astonishing  and  satisfactory  results. 

"  The  alteration,"  Sir  John  Seabright  says,  "  which  may  be 
made  in  any  breed  of  animals  by  selection  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived by  those  that  have  not  paid  some  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject." 

To  breed  in  the  most  successful  manner,  the  male  and  female 
should  be  taken  when  they  are  in  the  highest  state  of  health, 
and  when  all  the  powers  and  attributes  which  are  wished  for 
and  which  it  is  designed  to  propagate  are  in  the  most  complete 
order  and  state  of  perfection. 

II.-IN-AND  IN  BBEEDING. 

It  is  a  well-established  fact  in  human  physiology  that  the  in- 
termarriage of  near  relatives  tends  to  both  physical  and  mental 
degeneracy.  Analogy  would  lead  us  to  infer  that  the  same 
results  must  follow  close  breeding  among  the  lower  animals ; 
and  facts,  we  think,  prove  conclusively  that  this  is  the  case. 
Youatt,  high  authority  on  this  subject,  says : 

"  Breeding  in-and-in  has  many  advantages  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. It  may  be  pursued  until  the  excellent  form  and  quality 
of  the  breed  are  developed  and  established.  It  was  the  source 
whence  sprung  the  fine  cattle  and  sheep  of  Bakewell,  and  the 
superior  cattle  of  Colling ;  but  disadvantages  attend  breeding 
'in-and-in,'  and  to  it  must  be  traced  the  speedy  degeneracy, 
the  absolute  disappearance,  of  the  new  Leicester  cattle,  and  in 
the  hands  of  many  an  agriculturist,  the  impairment  of  consti- 


110  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

tution  and  decreased  value  of  the  new  Leicester  slieep  and 
the  short-horned  beasts.  It  has  therefore  become  a  kind  of 
principle  with  the  agriculturist  to  effect  some  change  in  his 
stock  every  second  or  third  year;  and  that  change  is  most 
conveniently  effected  by  introducing  a  new  bull  or  ram.  These 
should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  of  the  same  sort,  coming  from 
a  similar  pasturage  and  climate,  but  possessing  no  relationship, 
or  at  most  a  very  distant  one,  to  the  stock  to  which  he  is  in- 
troduced." These  remarks  apply  to  all  descriptions  of  live- 
stock. In  cattle,  as  well  as  in  the  human  species,  defects  of 
organization  and  permanent  derangements  of  function  obtain, 
and  are  handed  down  when  the  relationship  is  close. 

III.— CEOSSING. 

It  is  by  judicious  crossing  of  breeds  that  some  of  our  best 
varieties  of  domestic  animals  have  been  obtained.  A  cross 
between  a  superior  and  an  inferior  breed  results  in  a  progeny 
superior  to  the  latter,  and,  for  a  particular  use,  climate,  or 
locality,  often  better  than  the  former.  Thus  the  cross  between 
the  English  thorough-bred  horse  and  the  inferior  mare  of  the 
common  breed  of  New  England  gave  us  the  Morgan  breed, 
which  for  all  the  common  purposes  for  which  a  horse  is  used 
is  superior  to  the  thorough-bred  animal  himself. 

In  breeding  from  stock  with  qualifications  of  different  descrip- 
tions and  in  different  degrees,  the  breeder  will  decide  what  are 
indispensable  or  desirable  qualities,  and  will  cross  with  animals 
with  a  view  to  establish  them.  His  proceeding  will  be  of  the 
"give-and-take"  kind.'  lie  will,  if  necessary,  submit  to  the  in- 
troduction of  a  trifling  defect  in  order  that  he  may  profit  by  a 
great  excellence ;  and  between  excellences  perhaps  somewhat 
incompatible  he  will  decide  which  is  the  greatest,  and  give  it 
the  preference. 

The  following  account  of  the  way  in  which  the  new  French 
breed  of  sheep,  La  Chamois,  was  originated,  throws  light  upon 
an  important  principle  in  breeding;  namely,  that  the  influence 
of  the  male  upon  the  offspring  will  be  the  stronger  the  purer 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  BKEEDS.  Ill 

and  more  ancient  in  the  first  place  liis  own  race  may  be ;  and 
in  the  next  place,  the  less  resistance  is  offered  by  the  female 
through  the  possession  of  those  qualities  of  purity  and  long  de- 
scent which  are  so  valuable  in  the  sire. 

The  French  writer  says :  "  With  a  view  to  the  experiment 
proposed,  it  was  necessary  to  procure  English  rams  of  the 
purest  and  most  ancient  race,  and  unite  with  them  French 
ewes  of  the  modern  breeds,  or  rather  of  mixed  blood  forming 
no  distinct  breed  at  all.  It  is  easier  than  one  might  have 
supposed  to  combine  these  conditions.  On  the  one  hand,  I  se- 
lected some  of  the  finest  rams  of  the  New-Kent  breed,  regen- 
erated by  Goord.  On  the  other  hand,  we  find  in  France 
many  border  countries  lying  between  distinct  breeds,  in  which 
districts  it  is  easy  to  find  flocks  participating  in  the  two  neigh- 
boring races.  Thus,  on  the  borders  of  Berry  and  La  Solcgne 
one  meets  with  flocks  originally  sprung  from  a  mixture  oi  the 
two  distinct  races  that  are  established  in  those  two  provinces. 
Among  these,  then,  I  chose  such  animals  as  seemed  least  defect- 
ive, approaching,  in  fact,  the  nearest  to,  or  rather  departing 
the  least  from,  the  form  which  I  wished  ultimately  to  produce. 
These  I  united  with  animals  of  another  mixed  breed,  picking 
out  the  best  I  could  find  on  the  borders  of  La  Beauce  and 
Touraine,  which  blended  the  Tourangelle  and  native  Merino 
blood  of  those  other  two  districts.  From  this  mixture  was  ob- 
tained an  offspring  combining  the  four  races  of  Berry,  Sologne, 
Touraine,  and  Merino,  without  decided  character,  without 
fixity,  with  little  intrinsic  merit  certainly,  but  possessing  the 
advantage  of  being  used  to  our  climate  and  management,  and 
bringing  to  bear  on  the  new  breed  to  be  formed,  an  influence 
almost  annihilated  by  the  multiplicity  of  its  component  ele- 
ments. 

"  Now  what  happens  when  such  mixed-blood  ewes  are  put 
to  a  pure  New-Kent  ram?  A  lamb  is  obtained  containing 
fifty  mindredths  of  the  purest  and  most  ancient  English  blood, 
with  twelve  and  a  half  hundredths  of  four  different  French 
races,  which  are  individually  lost  in  the  preponderance  of 


112  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

English  blood,  and  disappear  almost  entirely,  leaving  the  im- 
proving type  in  the  ascendant.  The  influence,  in  fact,  of  this 
type  was  so  decided  and  so  predominant,  that  all  the  lambs 
produced  strikingly  resembled  each  other,  and  even  Englishmen 
took  them  for  animals  of  their  own  country.  But  what  was 
still  more  decisive,  when  these  young  ewes  and  rams  were  put 
together  they  produced  lambs  closely  resembling  themselves, 
without  any  marked  return  to  the  features  of  the  old  French 
races  from  which  the  grandmother  ewes  were  derived.  Some 
slight  traces  only  might  perhaps  be  detected  here  and  there  by 
an  experienced  eye.  Even  these,  however,  soon  disappeared, 
such  animals  as  showed  them  being  carefully  weeded  out  of 
the  breeding  flock.  This  may  certainly  be  called  '  fixing  a 
breed,"*  when  it  becomes  every  year  more  capable  of  repro- 
ducing itself  with  uniform  and  marked  features." 

IV.— ADDITIONAL  HINTS. 

Farmers,  like  men  in  other  branches  of  business,  have  an  eye 
on  the  profits  of  their  industry ;  and  the  more  intelligent  of 
them  are  now  fully  convinced  of  the  fact,  that  with  proper  care 
and  protection  the  improved  and  finer  breeds  do  give  a  greater 
product  with  the  same  amount  of  food  than  the  inferior  and 
coarser  breeds.  It  costs  but  little  if  any  more  to  keep  a  cow 
that  will  give  a  large  quantity  of  rich  milk  than  one  that  does 
not  pay  for  her  food ;  strong,  active  horses  are  far  more  profit- 
able than  poor,  lazy  ones ;  a  bushel  of  corn  will  make  twice  as 
much  pork  when  fed  to  a  Berkshire  or  a  Suffolk  as  to  a  Land- 
Pike  or  Racer,  and  the  best  sheep  will  yield  double  the  wool 
and  bring  triple  the  price  of  the  poorer  kinds. 

Now  every  farmer  may,  in  a  few  years,  make  great  improve- 
ment in  his  stock  by  selecting  his  best  animals  to  breed  from, 
with  an  occasional  infusion  of  fresh  blood  from  other  flocks 
and  herds  (without  reference  to  any  of  the  celebrated  improved 
breeds),  combined  with  proper  attention  to  their  feeding  and 
general  management ;  but  unless  he  has  a  particular  taste  for 
breeding  animals,  and  unusnayacilities  for  the  business,  he  will 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  BREEDS.  113 

find  it  more  convenient  and  cheaper  to  make  an  infusion  of  the 
improved  blood  into  Ins  stock,  choosing  such  as  is  best  fitted 
for  his  purpose.  A  bull  or  a  ram  of  one  of  the  best  breeds 
will  soon,  if  judiciously  managed,  make  a  great  change  for  the 
better  in  his  stock. 

Another  important  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind.  "  Improved 
breeds  owe  their  present  degree  of  perfection,  whatever  it  may 
be,  only  to  the  skill  which  has  been  exercised  in  their  selection, 
breeding,  and  management  for  a  number  of  generations  and  a 
long  series  of  years.  This  attention,  we  learn  from  the  extract 
above,  must  l)e  continued  if  we  wish  to  retain  the  valuable 
qualities  that  it  has  placed  within  our  reach ;  and  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  selection,  the  wants,  the  comfort,  and  the  health  of 
one's  stock  is  thus  shown  to  be  not  only  the  dictate  of  economy 
for  the  time  being,  but  a  matter  of  importance  in  the  future, 
from  the  influence  it  exerts  on  the  progeny  as  well  as  on  the 
parent.  Improvements  may  be  bred  out  as  fast  or  faster  than 
it  can  be  Ired  in.  Until  the  average  of  care  which  our  farm 
stock  now  receives  becomes  much  greater,  it  may  be  inexpedi- 
ent to  advise  the  maintenance  of  a  herd  or  flock  of  pure  im- 
proved blood  for  ordinary  farm  purposes ;  but,  by  beginning 
with  grades — employing  the  services  of  an  improved  male  to 
engraft  upon  "native"  stock —and  by  degrees  acquiring  the 
habit  of  paying  closer  attention  to  their  necessities  and  com- 
forts, not  only  will  our  cattle  and  sheep  be  gradually  and  fun- 
damentally bettered,  but  the  farmer  will  be  preparing  to  avail 
himself  of  breeds  already  rendered  capable  of  giving,  with 
proper  attention,  the  greatest  product  for  a  specified  amount  of 
food ;  and  animals  bred  to  this  point  will  then  come  into  his 
hands  to  be  improved,  not  to  be  deteriorated."-" 

*  Country  Gentleman. 


114:  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


VII. 

DISEASES  AND  THEIR  CURE. 

• 

Throw  physic  to  the  dogs. — Shaktpeare. 
I.-HYGIENE. 

HROW  physic  to  the  dogs,"  if  you  will,  but, 
be  assured,  they  are  quadrupeds  of  too  much 
good  sense  to  swallow  it ;  and  the  other  domes- 
tic animals  will  hardly  take,  except  under  com- 
pulsion, what  their  canine  companions  and  pro- 
tectors thus  reject.  You  will  find  less  difficulty  in  forcing  it 
down  the  throats  of  their  more  frequently  diseased  and  oftener 
doctored  masters. 

A  large  portion  of  almost  every  work  on  domestic  animals 
is  taken  up  with  directions  for  the  treatment  of  their  diseases. 
Our  limits  do  not  permit  us  to  dwell  long  on  this  point,  nor  do 
we  deem  it  necessary. 

In  their  wild  state,  animals  are  ordinarily  subject  to  few  if 
any  diseases.  They  live  according  to  the  laws  of  their  being — 
live  naturally  and  healthfully,  and,  unless  they  meet  a  violent 
death  at  the  hands  of  man  or  of  some  of  their  natural  enemies, 
die  a  natural  death.  Our  domestic  animals,  as  they  are  gener- 
ally managed,  live  under  conditions  less  favorable  to  health, 
and  sometimes,  although  with  comparative  infrequency,  get  sick. 
The  fault  is  generally  in  the  keeper  or  breeder,  and  not  in  the 
animal  or  in  the  conditions  inseparable  from  its  domestic 
state.  With  animals,  as  with  men,  disease  arises  from  some 
infringement  of  the  organic  laws ;  but  their  masters,  and  not 
themselves,  are  responsible  for  the  infringement.  When  they 
get  sick,  however,  in  consequence  of  the  false  conditions  under 


DISEASES  AND  THEIR  CUBE.          115 

which  they  are  forced  to  live,  man  adds  insult  to  injury  by 
forcing  his  nauseous  and  poisonous  drugs  down  their  reluctant 
throats.  If  they  recover  in  spite  of  both  the  disease  and  the 
remedy,  drugs  get  the  credit. 

Well,  let  those  use  drugs  who  have  faith  in  them,  either  in 
the  treatment  of  themselves,  their  families,  or  their  domestic 
animals;  but  the  reader  who  looks  in  this  little  manual  for 
directions  for  their  use  will  be  disappointed.  We  can  not  con- 
scientiously give  them. 

Animals  born  of  well  developed  and  perfectly  healthy  parents 
(and  none  but  perfectly  healthy  and  well  developed  animals 
should  ever  be  permitted  to  become  breeders)  may  almost  uni- 
versally fie  kept  in  perfect  health.  With  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
wholesome  food,  pure  water,  protection  against  storms  and  cold 
in  winter,  complete  ventilation  and  perfect  cleanliness  in  their 
habitations,  and  general  attention  to  their  comfort  and  health, 
there  will  be  little  call  for  medical  treatment  of  any  kind ;  and 
in  the  rare  cases  which  may  occur,  we  would  trust  mainly  to 
Nature,  co-operating  with  her  as  we  could  by  means  of  diet,  air, 
exercise,  and  water,  on  the  same  principles  precisely  that  are 
applied  in  the  treatment  of  human  beings  without  drugs. 

The  Water-Cure  or  Hydropathic  system  has  not  yet  been  ex- 
tensively applied  to  animals ;  but  so  far  as  it  has  been  adopted, 
it  has  produced  the  most  satisfactory  results ;  and  for  the  bene- 
fit of  such  of  our  readers  as  may  have  lost  their  faith  in  drugs, 
and  desire  to  make  a  trial  of  a  more  rational  method,  we  lay 
before  them  the  following  essay,  kindly  furnished  for  this  work 
by  that  distinguished  physician  and  writer,  R.  T.  Trail,  M.D., 
Principal  of  the  New  York  Hygeio-Therapeutic  College. 

II.— WATEE-CUEE  FOE  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

BY   K.    T.    TEALL,    M.D. 

The  habits  of  domestic  animals  being,  on  the  whole,  less 
unphysiological  than  those  of  human  beings,  their  diseases  are, 
as  a  necessary  consequence,  less  numerous  and  less  complicated. 
They  may  all  be  grouped  under  the  head  of  fevers,  inflam- 


116  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

mations,  spasms  or  colics,  fluxes,  eruptions,  and  glandular 
affections.  And  for  all  of  these  disorders  we  are  satisfied  that 
proper  attention  to  hygiene,  as  understood  by  the  term  Hy- 
dropathy or  Water-Treatment,  is  as  much  superior  to  drug  med- 
ication as  it  has  proved  to  be  in  the  case  of  human  beings 
similarly  affected. 

Fever  is  easily  known  by  the  languor  and  lassitude  which 
the  animal  manifests,  with  great  indisposition  to  exercise,  fol- 
lowed by  chills  or  shivering,  and  this  succeeded  by  preternatu- 
ral heat  on  the  surface,  loss  of  appetite,  furred  tongue,  frequent 
or  hard  or  bounding  pulse,  etc.  The  animal  should  be  placed 
in  a  clean,  quiet,  well- ventilated  room,  protected  from  currents 
of  cold  air  in  winter  or  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  in  sum- 
mer, and  the  temperature  should  be  kept  at  a  uniform  and 
moderate  degree  continually. 

When  the  skin  becomes  very  hot,  it  should  be  washed  or 
bathed  all  over,  and  a  blanket  or  two  immediately  applied,  so 
as  to  promote  moderate  perspiration.  Or  the  wet  sheet  may 
be  applied,  taking  care  to  cover  it  well  with  blankets,  so  as 
to  arrest  chilliness.  When  the  sheet  becomes  quite  warm,  it 
should  be  removed,  and  the  surface  washed  with  cold  water ; 
and  if  the  fever  heat  continues,  it  may  be  re-applied  for  an  hour 
at  a  time,  two  or  three  times  a  day,  until  the  morbid  heat  is 
entirely  subdued. 

The  same  general  plan  of  treatment,  with  a  slight  modifi- 
cation, applies  to  all  inflammatory  complaints.  With  domestic 
animals  as  with  human  beings,  the  organs  most  liable  to  acute 
inflammation  are  the  lungs  and  the  bowels,  and  the  only  spe- 
cialty of  treatment  in  these  affections,  in  addition  to  the  gen- 
eral plan  applicable  to  the  constitutional  disturbance  we  call 
fever,  is  the  continual  application  of  wet  cloths  well  covered 
with  dry  ones  to  the  chest  or  bowels,  as  either  is  the  seat  of 
the  inflammation,  and  the  employment  of  copious  enemas  of 
tepid  water  to  free  the  bowels. 

Spasmodic  diseases  of  all  kinds,  and  all  the  varieties  of  colic, 
are  the  results  of  local  obstruction  caused  by  over-exertion, 


DISEASES  AND  TIIEIK   CUKE.  117 

over-heating,  or  something  improper  or  indigestible  in  the  food. 
Grain,  and  especially  Indian  meal,  fed  to  a  horse  while  in  a 
state  of  great  heat  or  great  fatigue  from  violent  exertion,  is  fre- 
quently the  immediate  cause  of  colic  and  spasms.  In  these  cases 
the  animal  should  have  his  abdomen  fomented  with  wet  cloths 
applied  as  warm  as  can  be  borne  ;  warm  water  should  be  given 
the  animal  to  drink,  or  poured  down  his  throat  from  a  bottle, 
and  copious  enemas  of  warm  water  should  be  administered. 

Fluxes — as  diarrhea,  dysentery,  cholera,  influenza,  catarrh, 
etc. — are  the  indications  of  a  general  obstruction  of  the  system 
or  impurity  of  the  fluids,  with  an  effort  at  depuration  in  a  par- 
ticular direction.  The  usual  practice  of  checking  the  discharge 
suddenly  by  purigents,  stimulants,  and  astringents  is  always 
injurious  and  generally  dangerous.  On  the  contrary,  the  action 
of  the  surface  should  be  restored  by  bathing,  with  friction  or 
the  dripping-sheet,  and  all  irritating  matters  removed  from  the 
stomach  and  bowels  by  means  of  warm  and  tepid  water,  as  in 
the  case  of  colics.  There  will  be  no  danger  from  the  discharges 
if  the  cause  is  removed,  and  if  it  is  not  removed,  the  sudden 
suppression  of  the  evacuations  may  terminate  in  a  worse  in- 
flammation or  speedy  death. 

Affections  of  the  skin  and  glands  are  only  to  be  cured  by 
purifying  the  whole  mass  of  blood.  To  repel  an  eruption  from 
the  surface,  or  rather  a  glandular  tumor,  is  not  curing  the  ani- 
mal ;  indeed,  it  is  only  changing  an  external  disease  to  an  inter- 
nal one.  Thus  attention  to  a  pure  diet,  to  fresh  air,  and  to 
clean  apartments,  each  and  all  are  essential  to  recovery.  Many 
of  these  cachexies,  as  they  are  called  in  medical  books,  originate 
from  the  effluvia  of  their  own  excretions,  as  in  cases  where 
the  urine  and  feces  are  permitted  to  accumulate  in  the  stalls, 
or  under  the  floors  of  the  stables. 


118  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


VIII. 
POULTRY. 

Also  fowls  were  prepared  for  me. — ffehemiah  v.  18. 
I.— THE  DOMESTIC  FOWL. 

OBODY  knows  when  or  by  whom  fowls  were 
.  first  domesticated.  There  are  at  most  only  two 
or  three  allusions  to  them  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  these  are  of  doubtful  import.  In 
our  motto,  for  instance,  the  word  fowls  may 
mean  simply  birds. 

In  the  time  of  Aristotle,  who  wrote  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before  Christ,  however,  they  were  evidently  common ; 
for  he  speaks  of  them  as  familiarly  as  a  naturalist  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Everybody  is  familiar  with  the  beautiful  allusions  to 
them  in  the  New  Testament. 

The  wild  origin  of  our  domestic  fowl  is  entirely  unknown. 
The  race,  like  that  of  the  Dodo,  is  probably  extinct.  The  Wild 
Turkey  will  sooner  or  later  share  the  same  fate. 

Crested  or  top-knotted  fowls  appear  to  have  been  unknown 
to  the  ancients.  The  earliest  notice  of  them  occurs  in  Aldro- 
vandi,  who  speaks  of  a  hen  with  "a  crest  like  a  lark." 

Domestic  fowls  now  abound  in  all  warm  and  temperate 
climates,  but  disappear  as  we  approach  the  poles.  They  were 
found  in  abundance  on  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  their 
earliest  discoverers.  How  they  got  there  nobody  knows. 
Probably  in  the  same  way  that  their  human  inhabitants  found 
their  insular  homes.  Ellis,  in  his  "Polynesian  Researches," 
says:  "The  traditions  of  the  people  state  that  fowls  have 
existed  on  the  islands  (Tahiti)  as  long  as  the  people ;  that  they 


POULTEY.  119 

came  with  the  first  colonists  by  whom  the  islands  were  peo- 
pled ;  or  that  they  were  made  by  Taarva  at  the  same  time 
that  men  were  made." 

The  courage  of  the  cock  is  emblematic,  his  gallantry  ad- 
mirable, his  sense  of  discipline  and  subordination  most  exem- 
plary. See  how  a  good  game-cock  of  two  or  three  years'  ex- 
perience will,  in  five  minutes,  restore  order  into  an  uproarious 
poultry -yard !  He  does  not  use  harsh  means  of  coercion  when 
mild  will  suit  the  purpose.  A  look,  a  gesture,  a  deep  chuck- 
ling growl,  gives  the  hint  that  turbulence  is  no  longer  to  be  per- 
mitted ;  and  if  these  are  not  effectual,  severer  punishment  is 

fearlessly  administered His  politeness  to  females  is 

as  marked  as  were  Lord  Chesterfield's  attentions  to  old  ladies, 
and  much  more  unaffected.  Nor  does  he  merely  act  the  agree- 
able dangler ;  when  occasion  requires,  he  is  also  their  brave 
defender,  if  he  be  good  for  anything. 

"  The  hen  is  deservedly  the  acknowledged  pattern  of  mater- 
nal love.  When  her  passion  of  philoprogenitiveness  is  disap- 
pointed by  the  failure  or  subtraction  of  her  brood,  she  will 
either  go  on  sitting  till  her  natural  powers  fail,  or  will  violent- 
ly kidnap  the  young  of  some  other  fowl  and  insist  upon  adopt- 
ing them."* 

The  varieties  of  the  domestic  fowl  are  almost  numberless, 
but  only  a  few  of  them  are  worthy  of  more  than  a  mere  men- 
tion here.  Among  these  we  give  the  first  place  to — 

1.  The  Spanish  Fowl. — The.  thorough-bred  Spanish  fowl  is 
entirely  black,  so  far  as  feathers  are  concerned,  with  a  greenish 
metallic  luster.  The  combs  of  both  the  male  and  the  female 
are  very  large  and  of  a  brilliant  scarlet ;  that  of  the  hen  droops 
over  on  one  side.  Their  most  singular  feature  is  a  large  white 
patch,  or  ear-lobe,  on  the  cheek,  which  in  some  specimens  ex- 
tends over  a  large  part  of  the  face.  It  is  a  fleshy  substance, 
similar  to  the  wattle,  and  is  small  in  the  hens  but  large  and 
conspicuous  in  the  cocks,  giving  them  a  very  striking  appear- 


*  Kev.  Edmund  Saul  Dixon. 


120 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


ance.  There  are  few,  if  any,  handsomer  fowls  than  the  genuine 
Spanish  ;  although  some  that  are  called  by  that  name,  but  are 
really  nameless  mongrels,  are  ugly  enough  for  scarecrows. 

The  hens  are  great  layers,  being  in  this  respect,  we  believe, 
superior  to  every  other  breed.  Their  eggs  are  very  large,  quite 
white,  and  of  a  peculiar  shape,  being  quite  thick  at  both  ends, 
although  tapering  off  a  little  at  each.  A  correspondent  of  the 
Country  Gentleman,  relating  his  experience  with  them,  says : 
"  My  last  year's  June  pullets  commenced  to  lay  in  December, 
and  the  first  of  February  all  of  my  Spanish  hens  laid  more  or 
less.  I  got,  in  the  six  months,  from  the  first  of  March  to  the 
first  of  September,  eighty -five  dozen  of  eggs  from  seven  pullets, 
and  I  now  get  from  four  to  six  eggs  per  day ;  and  my  honest 

Fig.  30. 


THE  SPANISH  FOWL. 

conviction  is,  that  the  true  Black  Spanish  hen  will  lay  from 
'five  to  ten  per  cent.'  more  weight  of  eggs  than  any  other 
breed." 


121 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  confessed  that  these  Spanish 
dames  are  not  good  mothers  or  nurses,  even  when  they  do  sit, 
"which,"  as  Dixon  remarks,  "  they  will  not  often  condescend 
to  do."  This  last  trait  of  character  will  prove  a  recommend- 
ation rather  than  otherwise  with  those  who  care  for  eggs 
rather  than  chickens.  When  the  latter  are  wanted,  it  is  better 
to  place  the  eggs  under  a  hen  of  another  and  more  motherly 
breed — a  Dorking,  for  instance. 

The  Spanish  fowls  bear  confinement  very  well;  are  not 
large  eaters  ;  grow  rapidly ;  mature  early  ;  and  are  only  excel- 
led for  the  table  by  the  Game  fowl  and  the  Dorking.  The  aver- 
age weight  of  the  mature  birds  is  about  six  pounds  for  the  male 
and  five  for  the  female. 

It  is  important,  but  somewhat  difficult  at  present,  to  procure 
the  true,  unmixed,  white-faced  Black  Spanish  breed. 

There  is  another  breed  called  the  Gray  or  Speckled  Spanish, 
but,  however  excellent  they  may  be  (and  they  are  highly 
spoken  of),  they  are  probably  a  mixed  breed. 

2.  The  Dorlcing  Fowl. — The  Dorking  takes  its  name  from 
a  town  in  Surrey  County,  England,  where  it  is  supposed  to 
have  originated. 

The  Dorkings  are  divided  into  the  Colored  and  the  White 
varieties;  the  former  including  the  Gray,  Speckled,  Spangled, 
Japanned,  etc.  These  are  not  permanent  varieties,  however, 
as  they  can  not  be  bred  true  to  color.  The  Gray  and  Spangled 
comprise  the  more  common  forms  in  which  the  Colored  Dork- 
ing family  is  presented  to  us. 

The  White  Dorking  is  a  smaller-framed  bird  than  the  Gray, 
and  should  be  perfectly  white  in  plumage,  bill,  and  legs.  They 
should  have  rose-combs.  They  are  less  hardy  than  the  colored 
variety,  and  not  well  adapted  to  a  northern  climate. 

The  Dorking  is  a  fowl  of  rare  beauty,  large  in  size,  symmet- 
rical in  form,  and  often  gorgeous  in  plumage.  Its  flesh  is 
white,  firm,  and  of  excellent  flavor ;  and  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  the  table  it  is  inferior  to  none,  although,  as  regards 
flavor  alone,  the  Game  fowl  would  perhaps  take  precedence. 

6 


122 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


As  layers,  the  Dorking  hens  take  high  rank,  but  are,  we  think, 
inferior  to  the  Spanish.  They  are  persistent  sitters,  and  make 
excellent  mothers  and  nurses.  The  editor  of  the  Aiwrictm 
Fig.  81. 


THE  DORKING  FOWL. 

Agriculturist  says :  "A  little  knowledge  in  keeping  them 
[the  Dorkings]  justified  us  in  pronouncing  them  entitled  to  the 
same  rank  among  barn-yard  fowls  that  the  Short  Horns  have 
taken  among  cattle ;  and  years  of  experience  in  breeding  them 
have  confirmed  us  in  this  opinion." 

John  Giles,  a  well  known  poultry  breeder  of  Woodstock, 
Conn.,  expresses  the  following  opinion :  "  After  forty-odd 
years'  experience  with  the  gallinaceous  tribes,  I  say  that,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  no  breed  of  fowls  will  compare  with  the  tru  3 
Dorking  as  good  mothers,  sitters,  and  layers,  giving  eggs  in 
abundance,  chickens  easily  reared,  and  which  come  to  perfec 
tion  sooner  than  any  other  poultry.  The  flesh  is  of  a  delicate 
white,  fine  in  the  grain,  and  delicious  flavor.  The  Black  Span- 


POULTRY. 


123 


ish  is  only  second  to  the  true  Dorking,  in  not  raising  their  own 
young,  seldom  or  ever  wanting  to  sit ;  but  what  they  lose  in 
that  point  is  more  than  made  up  by  the  abundance  of  eggs. 
By  some  they  are  called  the  everlasting  layers ;  eggs  large ; 
flesh  and  skin  beautifully  white  and  juicy ;  chickens  grow  rap- 
idly." 

A  cross  between  the  Dorking  and  the  Game  fowl  is  greatly 
esteemed,  and  is  thought  to  be  more  profitable  than  the  thor- 
ough-bred Dorking. 

The  possession  of  the  fifth  claw  is  generally  considered  as  an 
essential  characteristic  of  the  Dorking,  but  it  is  not  always 
present,  and  might  and  should  be  "  bred  out."  The  weight  of 
the  Dorking  at  maturity  varies  from  five  to  eight  pounds. 

3.  The  Polish  Fowl. — The  origin  of  this  family  of  fowls  is 
entirely  unknown.  They  do  riot  exist  in  Poland  at  the  present 
time,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  were  ever  known 
there ;  but  this  is  a  matter  of  small  moment.  Their  beauty 

Fig.  32. 


THE  POLISH  FOWL. 


124  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

and  excellence  are  undisputed.  The  large  top-knot  is  one  of 
the  principal  characteristics  of  the  Polish  fowl,  and  is  conspic- 
uous in  all  its  varieties. 

The  varieties  of  the  Polish  or  Poland  fowl  are  numerous ; 
but  the  principal  ones  are  the  White-Crested  Black,  the  Golden 
Spangled,  and  the  Silver  Spangled. 

In  the  White-Crested  Black  Poland  cock  the  plumage,  with 
the  exception  of  the  crest,  should  be  uniformly  black,  with  rich 
metallic  tints  of  green.  The  shorter  crest  feathers  at  the  base 
of  the  bill  are  black,  the  rest  of  the  purest  white.  The  beak 
and  legs  are  generally  black.  The  same  colors  are  required  in 
the  hen.  Their  form  and  bearing  are  remarkably  good.  The 
cock  should  weigh  from  five  to  five  and  a  half  pounds,  and  the 
hen  about  four  pounds. 

The  Golden  Spangled  and  the  Silver  Spangled  Polands  are 
splendid  birds.  "  The  beautiful  regularity  of  their  markings, 
the  vivid  contrasts  in  their  colors,  together  with  their  unique 
appearance  generally,  entitle  them  to  the  first  rank  among  the 
more  ornamental  varieties." 

The  Polands,  and  especially  the  Black  variety,  are  gener- 
ally but  not  invariably  great  layers,  commencing  early  in  the 
spring,  and  seldom  wanting  to  sit  till  late  in  the  summer,  if 
at  all.  They  can  not  always  be  depended  upon  to  hatch  a 
clutch  of  chickens,  even  when  they  manifest  a  desire  to  sit,  fre- 
quently deserting  the  nest  after  five  or  six  days'  occupation.* 
They  are  not  quite  so  hardy  as  some  other  breeds,  but  with  a 
fair  degree  of  attention  are  easily  reared.  As  a  table  fowl,  the 
Polish  is  among  the  best. 

4.  The  Hamburg  Fowl. — Of  the  Hamburgs  there  are  sev- 
eral varieties.  The  Silver  Penciled,  known  also  as  the  Bolton 
Gray,  have  the  plumage  white,  with  the  exception  of  the  wings 
and  tail,  which  are  furred  with  black.  The  average  weight  of 
the  cock  is  about  four  and  a  half  pounds.  The  hen  usually 
weighs  about  a  pound  less.  The  Golden  Penciled  Hamburg 

*  Wlngfleld. 


POULTRY.  125 

differs  from  the  Silver  Penciled  chiefly  in  the  ground  cclor  of 
its  plumage,  which  is  a  yellowish  buff  or  yellowish  bay,  and  in 
being  rather  larger.  The  legs  of  both  these  varieties  should  be 
blue.  The  Silver  Spangled  and  Golden  Spangled  differ  from 
the  Penciled  sorts,  in  having  black,  circular,  oval,  or  crescent- 
shaped  spangles  on  the  tail  and  wing,  instead  of  bars.  They 
are  somewhat  larger  than  the  Penciled  birds  and  have  darker 

Fig.  88. 


THE  SILVEE  SPANGLED  HAMBURG  FOWL. 

legs.  The  Black  Hamburg  has  a  plumage  of  a  uniformly  rich, 
glossy-green  black. 

All  the  Hamburgs  are  beautiful  fowls,  rich  in  plumage  and 
fine  in  form ;  great  layers  (the  eggs,  however,  are  small) ;  sel- 
dom desire  to  sit ;  and  are  good  for  the  table,  falling  but  little 
below  the  best  varieties  in  this  respect,  although  not  so  large 
as  some  others. 

They  are  impatient  of  confinement,  and  to  do  well  must  have 


126 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


Fig.  34. 


TUB  GOLDEN  SPANGLED  HAMBUKG  FOWL. 

a  wide  range  of  grassy  lawn  or  pasture.     Of  the  different  vari- 
eties we  prefer  the  Golden  Spangled,  but  others  may  choose 
differently. 
5.  The  Dominique  Fowl. — This  is  a  very  common  breed  in 

Fig.  35. 


THE  DOMINIQUE  COOK. 


POULTRY.  127 

this  country,  but  none  the  less  valuable  or  beautiful  on  that 
account. 

"  The  prevailing  and  true  color  of  the  Dominique  fowl  is  a 
lightish  ground,  barred  crosswise,  and  softly  shaded  with  a 
slaty-blue,  as  indicated  in  the  portrait  of  the  cock  figured  on 
the  previous  page.  The  comb  is  variable,  some  being  single, 
while  others  are  double — niost,  however,  are  single.  The  iris, 
bright  orange ;  feet,  legs,  and  bill,  bright  yellow ;  and  some 
light  flesh  color.  We  prefer  the  yellow  legs  and  bill,  and  con- 
sider them  well  worthy  of  promotion  in  the  poultry -yard. 

"  We  seldom  see  bad  hens  of  this  variety ;  and  take  them 
'all-in-all,'  we  do  not  hesitate  in  pronouncing  them  one  of  the 
best  and  most  profitable  fowls,  being  hardy,  good  layers,  care- 
ful nurses,  and  affording  excellent  eggs,  and  the  quality  of  their 
flesh  highly  esteemed.  The  hens  are  not  large,  but  plump  and 
full  breasted.  The  eggs  average  about  two  ounces  each,  and 
are  of  porcelain  whiteness."* 

6.  The  Leghorn  Fowl. — The   Leghorns  are  believed  to  bo 
cousins  of  the  Spanish,  whom  they  resemble  in  general  form. 
They  have  been  considerably  experimented  with  in  this  country, 
and  are  highly  extolled  by  some  breeders ;  but  the  general  ver- 
dict is  that  they  are  inferior  to  the  Spanish.! 

7.  The  Shanghai  Fowl. — The  Shanghai  fowl  was  originally 
brought  from  the  northern  part  of  China,  particularly  about 
the  city  of  Shanghai,  from  which  it  takes  its  name.     It  is  the 
common  domestic  fowl  of  that  part  of  the  country. 

The  Shanghai  cock  is  a  large,  bold,  upright  bird,  strongly 
distinguished  for  the  length,  loudness,  hoarseness,  and  awk- 
wardness of  his  half  guttural  crow.  Most  of  the  sub- varieties 


*  Country  Gentleman. 

t  A  correspondent  of  one  of  the  agricultural  papers,  however,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing testimony  in  their  favor :  "  I  have  kept  in  different  inclosures  six  of  the 
most  approved  varieties  of  fowls,  for  four  months  (from  the  1st  of  April  to  the 
present) — have  registered  the  number  of  -  ggs  laid  by  each  variety  every  day, 
and  the  Leghorns  have  laid  almost  three  eggs  to  any  other  bird's  one,  not  ex- 
cepting the  far-famed  Black  Spanish." — E.  W.  PEAKSALL,  Harlem,  N.  Y. 


128 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


have  large,  single,  serrated  combs,  the  top  running  considerably 
beyond  its  point  of  attachment  to  the  head.  His  neck  is  about 
nine  inches  long,  and  is  somewhat  arched  ;  wings  short,  round- 
ed outward,  their  shoulders  concealed  in  the  breast-feathers, 
and  their  tips  covered  by  the  body-feathers  and  the  saddle- 
hackle.  His  breast  is  broad,  but  wanting  in  fullness;  the 
thighs  are  wide  apart,  large,  comparatively  short,  smooth  in 
Fig.  36. 


THE  SHANGHAI  FOWL. 

some,  in  others  heavily  feathered  quite  down  to  the  knees; 
shanks  should  be  short,  and,  with  the  booted,  more  or  less 
feathered  down  the  outer  edge,  quite  to  the  end  of  the  outer 
toe ;  the  stern  is  densely  covered  with  long  downy  feathers, 
technically  called  "fluff,"  well  rounded  out;  the  hackle,  both 
of  neck  and  saddle,  is  long  and  abundant;  while  the  tail  is 
short  and  sometime.-  covered  by  the  long  saddle-feathers.  The 


POULTBY.  129 

weight  of  a  full-grown  bird  is  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds, 
while  a  few  have  weighed  more.  The  hen  agrees  in  general 
character  with  that  of  her  liege  lord,  but  is  two  or  three  pounds 
lighter. 

The  legs  of  both  sexes  should  be  yellow,  though  we  have 
seen  some  very  fine  white  birds  with  a  greenish-blue  leg,  and 
superior  black  ones  with  dark  legs. 

The  principal  sub-varieties  of  the  Shanghai  family  are  the 
White,  the  Buff,  the  Cinnamon,  the  Partridge-colored,  the  Gray, 
or  Brahmapootra  of  a  few  writers,  the  Dominique,  and  the 
Black. 

About  ten  years  ago  there  raged  among  our  fowl  fanciers  a 
most  alarming  Shanghai  fever.  It  had  its  "  run,"  and  its  vic- 
tims mostly  survived.  We  presume  they  will  never  have  a 
second  attack. 

We  can  not  advise  our  readers  to  breed  Shanghai  fowls,  and 
regret  being  obliged  to  mention  them  at  all. 

8.  The  Cochin  China  Fowl,  etc. — A  missionary  in  China 
says:  "There  is  no  difference  at  all  between  the  Shanghais 
and  Cochin  Chinas.     In  reality  they  all  are  Shanghais.     Coch- 
in Chinese  fowls  are  a  small,  inferior  kind,  not  equal  to  the 
natives  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is  not  believed  that  any 
have  ever  been  taken  to  America ;"  and  the  editors  of  the 
"  Poultry  Book,"  lately  published  in  London,  quote  from  a  let- 
ter they  received  from  Mr.  Robert  Fortune,  who  has  passed 
many  years  in  various  parts  of  China,  as  follows :  "  I  firmly 
believe  that  what  are  called  *  Cochin  Chinas'  and '  Shanghais' 
are  one  and  the  same. 

Whether  this  testimony  should  be  considered  conclusive  or 
not  we  leave  the  reader  to  judge,  and  believing  none  of  the  un- 
couth, awkward,  and  coarse-grained  Asiatic  fowls  desirable,  we 
herewith  dismiss  them. 

9.  The  Bantam  Fowl. — The  Bantam  is  the  smallest  specimen 
of  fowl,  and  may  with  propriety  be  called  the  Tom  Thumb  of 
the  gallinaceous  tribe,  and  stands  comparatively,  in  size,  to  the 
Malay  and  Cochin  fowl  as  that  of  the  noble  and  stately  Dur- 

C* 


130  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

ham  to  the  diminutive  Alderney   cow.     Though  extremely 
small  in  size,  the  Bantam  cock  is  elegantly  formed,  and  remark- 
Fig.  3T. 


WHITE  BANTAM  COCK  AND  HEN. 

able  for  his  grotesque  figure,  his  courageous  and  passionate 
temper,  his  amusing  pompousness  of  manner,  his  overweening 
assumption  and  arrogance ;  and  his  propensity  to  make  fight, 
and  force  every  rival  to  "turn  tail,"  has  caused  him  many  diffi- 
culties. 

The  Bantam  must  be  considered  more  as  an  object  of  curios- 
Fig.  38. 


BLACK  BANTAM  COCK  AND  HEN. 

ity  than  utility,  and  of  course  must  expect  to  be  received  with 
no  peculiar  favor,  in  this  country,  except  as  a  "pet."     They 


POULTRY. 


131 


arrive  at  maturity  early,  are  faithful  sitters,  good  mothers,  and 
will  lay  more  eggs,  though  small,  than  any  other  variety.  They 
are  very  domestic,  often  making  their  nests  in  the  kitchen,  de- 
positing their  eggs  in  the  cradle  or  cupboard  of  the  dwelling 
when  permitted.* 

The  most  beautiful  of  the  Bantams  is  the  Seabright,  of  which 
there  are  two  sub-varieties — the  Gold-laced  and  the  Silver- 
laced. 

The  ground  color  of  the  Gold-laced  should  be  a  clear,  gold- 
en, yellow- white  ;  while  in  the  Silver-laced  it  should  be  a  pure 
silvery-white.  The  accompanying  cut  will  give  the  reader  a 
good  idea  of  the  form  and  bearing  of  these  remarkable  and 
beautiful  fowls,  as  well  as  of  the  markings  of  their  plumage. 

The  Seabright  Bantam  is  emphatically  the  English  gentle- 
man's Bantam.  Even  lords  and  duchesses  strive  for  the  mas- 
tery in  breeding  this  beautiful  bird.  This  bird  was  first  bred 

Fig.  39. 


TUB  SEABRIGHT  BANTAM. 


and  introduced  to  the  notice  of  English  fanciers  by  the  late  Sir 
John  Seabright,  from  whom  they  received  their  name.t 


*  Bcmcnt 


t  Country  Gentleman. 


132  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

10.  The  Game  Fowl. — The  Game  fowl  is  hardy,  easily  kept, 
and  extra  good  for  the  table.  The  hens  are  fair  layers,  excel- 
lent sitters,  exemplary  mothers,  and  in  every  way  well  behaved 

Fig.  40. 


fowls.  The  cocks  have  the  reputation  of  being  quarrelsome 
and  tyrannical;  but  those  who  have  studied  their  character 
most  closely  are  of  the  opinion  that,  on  this  ground,  they  have 
been  unjustly  condemned.  They  are  brave  and  powerful,  but 
not  pugnacious  or  vindictive.  Bement  says :  "  For  those  who 
do  not  wish  to  give  much  attention  to  fowls,  there  is,  accord- 
ing to  our  opinion,  no  breed  equal  to  the  Game." 

11.  Mongrel  Fowls. — The  collections  usually  known  under 
the  name  of  Barn-door  fowls  or  Dunghill  fowls  are  merely  rab- 
bles of  mongrels,  in  which  the  results  of  accidental  or  injudi- 
cious crosses  have  become  apparent  in  all  sorts  of  ways.     There 
is  a  tendency  among  them  to  revert  back  to  some  one  of  the 
original  breeds,  and  good  fowls  for  all  common  uses  are  often 
found  among  them. 

12.  Choice  of  Breed. — We  have  mentioned  the  leading  char- 
acteristics of  the  different  kinds  of  fowls,  in  order  to  enable  the 
reader  to  decide  which  is  best  adapted  to  his  purpose.     Were 
our  advice  asked  in  reference  to  the  choice  of  a  breed,  we  would 
recommend  the  Spanish  where  eggs  are  to  be  made  the  prin- 


POULTKY.  133 

cipal  object,  and  the  Gray  Dorking  where  chickens  are  wanted 
for  the  table  or  for  market.  In  reference  to  merely  ornamental 
poultry,  let  "fancy"  rule. 

13.  Accommodations. — No  one  should  attempt  to  keep  fowls 
without  providing  for  them  the  proper  accommodations  to  in- 
sure their  comfort  and  health.  These  need  not  be  expensive. 
A  very  simple  house  with  appropriate  accessories  in  the  form 
of  a  yard,  nests,  feeding  troughs,  water  basins  or  fountains, 
roosts,  etc.,  can  all  be  very  cheaply  furnished ;  or  they  may  be 
more  extensive,  elaborate,  and  costly,  if  the  proprietor's  wants 
require  and  his  means  permit.  For  plans  and  descriptions  of 
these  structures  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  "The  House," 
which  forms  another  number  of  this  series  of  manuals.  We 
need  only  say  here  that  they  should  be  such  as  to  secure 
warmth  and  efficient  shelter  from  storms,  without  excluding 
light  or  air,  both  of  which  are  essential  to  the  well-being  of 
fowls  as  well  as  human  beings. 

"  Most  farmers,"  Mr.  Bement  truly  says,  "  pay  little  or  no  at- 
tention to  their  fowls,  suffering  them  to  roam  and  run  about 
when  and  where  they  please ;  to  lay  and  hatch  where  it  suits 
them  best,  and  to  rcost  on  trees,  under  sheds,  on  the  wagon, 
cart,  hay-rigging,  etc. — soiling  by  their  droppings  plows,  har- 
rows, or  whatever  may  chance  to  be  within  reach.  This  treat- 
ment is  no  less  unprofitable  than  inhuman.  ISTo  wonder  such 
farmers  get  no  eggs  during  the  winter,  and  generally  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  poultry  keeping  does  not  'pay.'" 

Whatever  may  be  the  form  or  size  of  your  poultry -house,  it 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  secure  as  equable  a  tempera- 
ture as  possible.  This  end  is  best  attained  by  having  the 
walls  and  roof  lined,  leaving  an  open  space  of  from  four  to  six 
inches  between  the  outer  and  inner  walls,  which  may  be  filled 
in  with  chaff,  saw-dust,  or  dry  tan.  This  will  make  it  warm 
in  winter  and  cool  in  summer.  In  addition  to  the  inclosed  por- 
tion, the  house  should  have  a  broad  piazza  or  shed  attached, 
to  which  the  fowls  may  retire  for  shelter  in  stormy  weather. 

Hens  always  seek  to  avoid  observation  when  laying,  and  it  is 


134  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

well  to  gratify  this  natural  feeling  in  the  construction  of  their 
nests.  A  screen  of  lattice-work  in  front  of  the  boxes,  or  a  few 
evergreen  boughs  properly  placed,  will  secure  the  required 
seclusion  without  preventing  the  circulating  of  the  air. 
In  reference  to  the  poultry-yard  Mr.  Bement  says  : 
"Where  it  is  intended  to  keep  a  large  number  of  fowls,  let 
the  yard  be  of  ample  dimensions,  which  of  course  must  be  reg- 
ulated by  the  number  intended  to  be  kept.  Those  contracted 
seven-by-nine  pens  which  meet  our  eyes  throughout  the  country 
are  not  calculated  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
intended.  Half  an  acre,  at  least,  for  every  hundred  fowls  (and 
more  than  that  number  should  never  be  kept  in  one  flock),  is 
little  space  enough  for  them  to  roam  in  ;  and  in  order  to  unite 
all  the  advantages  desirable  in  a  poultry-yard,  it  is  indispensa- 
ble that  it  neither  be  too  cold  during  winter  nor  too  hot  during 
summer ;  and  it  must  be  rendered  so  attractive  to  the  hens  as 
to  prevent  their  laying  in  any  chance  place  away  from  it.  To 
shield  them  from  the  chilling  blasts  of  winter  and  the  scorch- 
ing rays  of  the  sun  in  summer,  we  would  recommend  planting 
evergreens  on  the  borders  of  the  yard,  and  shade  trees  in  the 
center.  This,  with  a  good  covering  of  grass,  would  leave  little 
to  be  desired  on  that  part.  And  if  the  fowls  can  have  access  to 
a  grass  field  occasionally,  and  the  soil  dry,  then,  so  far  as  the 
ground  and  situation  are  concerned,  nothing  to  be  wished  for 
remains. 

"  A  picket  fence,  from  six  to  seven  feet  high,  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  fowls  from  flying  over." 

14.  Feeding. — The  fowl  is  as  omnivorous  as  a  pig  or  a  man, 
and  perhaps  a  little  more  so  ;  nevertheless  grain  is  their  staple. 
Of  this  they  ought  to  have  a  variety,  as  they  do  not  thrive  so 
well  when  fed  constantly  with  one  kind.  Corn,  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  and  buckwheat  make  good  feed  for  them.  It  is  better  to 
have  all  kinds  of  grain,  intended  for  feeding  fowls,  and  espe- 
cially corn,  coarsely  ground  or  cracked.  It  will  be. found  that 
they  require  a  smaller  quantity  in  this  state.  It  should  be 
scalded,  or  at  least  mixed  to  the  consistency  of  a  stiff  batter 


POULTKY.  135 

with  water,  before  feeding  it  to  them.  Vegetables,  such  as 
potatoes,  carrots,  parsneps,  beets,  etc.,  boiled  and  mashed,  are 
acceptable  and  wholesome.  Lettuce,  cabbage,  Scotch  kale,  etc., 
chopped  up  fine,  are  excellent  for  all  kinds  of  poultry  in  the 
winter.  A  few  chopped  onions  may  occasionally  be  added ; 
and  also  a  little  flesh-meat,  either  raw  or  cooked,  cut  into  small 
pieces. 

The  editor  of  the  Country  Gentleman  thinks  that  it  is  better 
to  feed  poultry  in  winter  from  three  to  four  times  daily,  than 
twice,  which  is  the  ordinary  custom.  By  frequent  feeding,  the 
birds  eat  but  a  little  at  a  time,  and  never  injure  themselves ; 
but  when  fed  but  once  or  twice  daily,  there  is  danger  of  their 
overeating,  which  frequently  produces  fatal  results.  Our  rule 
is,  to  so  regulate  the  quantity  given  at  each  time,  that  each 
fowl  shall  have  all  it  wishes,  and  have  nothing  left.  Our  ex- 
perience confirms  what  many  have  said,  that  regular  and  fre- 
quent feeding  is  better  for  the  health  of  the  fowl,  at  any  season 
of  the  year,  than  it  is  to  fill  a  vessel  with  grain  and  allow  them 
access  to  it  at  all  times.  We  also  think  that  poultry  will  eat 
less  with  frequent  feeding  than  by  twice  feeding  daily. 

Lime  is  necessary  for  the  formation  of  egg-shells,  and  should 
always  be  accessible.  The  best  form  is  that  of  calcined  oyster 
shells,  pounded  in  small  fragments.  A  box  of  sand  and  gravel, 
and  another  of  ashes,  should  be  added. 

Pure  water  is  another  essential  that  can  not  be  too  strenuously 
insisted  upon,  impure  water  being  a  grand  source  of  the  dis- 
eases of  poultry. 

Cleanliness  must  be  strictly  attended  to  in  all  your  arrange- 
ments for  fowls ;  and  the  inside  of  the  poultry -house  should  be 
whitewashed  twice,  at  least,  during  the  year,  as  a  preventive 
against  vermin. 

15.  Incubation,  and  Rearing  Chickens. — For  sitting,  choose 
good-sized  hens.  Those  with  short  legs,  broad  body,  and  large 
wings  are  best  adapted  to  the  duty.  It  is  also  generally  re- 
marked that  the  worst  layers  are  the  best  sitters.  All  the 
eggs  for  a  brood,  which  should  not  exceed  thirteen,  should  be 


136  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

so  nearly  as  possible  of  the  same  age.  None  of  them  should 
be  more  than  ten  days  old ;  and  the  reason  why  they  should 
be  of  about  the  same  date  is,  that  they  may  be  hatched  simul- 
taneously. Select  eggs  of  average  size  and  ordinary  shape. 
Give  the  hen  a  quiet  place  to  sit,  and  take  care  that  she  be  not 
disturbed.  In  twenty-one  days  (sometimes  a  day  or  two  earlier 
in  warm  weather)  a  good  sitter  will  bring  out  the  chicks.  The 
first  day  after  hatching  they  do  not  want  food  and  should  be 
left  in  the  nest.  The  next  day  they  may  be  put  into  a  good 
coop  in  a  dry,  sheltered  situation,  and  fed  with  coarse  corn- 
meal  mixed  up  with  water,  hard-boiled  eggs  chopped  fine,  or 
fresh  curd.  Feed  a  little  at  a  time  and  often,  and  beware  of 
overfeeding.  When  a  little  older,  cracked  corn,  millet,  wheat, 
barley,  etc.,  may  be  fed  to  them.  Have  plenty  of  pure  water 
in  a  shallow  dish  (so  that  they  may  drink  without  getting  into 
it  and  wetting  their  feathers)  always  before  them.  After  five 
or  six  days  they  may  be  allowed  to  range  at  will  outside  of  the 
coop,  but  should  not  be  allowed  to  come  out  while  the  dew  is 
on  the  ground.  When  two  or  three  weeks  old,  or,  indeed, 
with  the  hardier  breeds  much  earlier,  the  hen  may  be  permit- 
ted to  lead  them  out.  The  most  important  caution  now  is  to 
guard  them  well  against  sudden  unfavorable  changes  of  tem- 
perature, and  especially  against  cold  rain-storms. 

16.  The  Poultry  Pentalogue. — Somebody  in  England  has 
written  a  little  work  which  he  calls  the  "  Poultry  Pentalogue," 
in  which  the  whole  art  of  fowl-breeding  is  summed  up  in  five 
grand  rules : 

1.  Pure  breed ; 

2.  A  constant  infusion  of  fresh  blood,  and  the  careful  avoid- 
ance of  in-and-in  breeding ; 

3.  A  varied  diet ; 

4.  Equable  temperature  ;  and — 

5.  Strict  cleanliness. 

Good  rules  and  easily  remembered.  We  commend  them  to 
our  readers,  who  may  profitably  apply  them  to  other  stock 
besides  fowls. 


PoULTKY. 


137 


II.— THE  GUINEA  FOWL. 

"There  is  no  doubt,"  Wingfield  says,  "from  the  description 
given  by  ColumeJla  and  Varro,  that  the  Guinea  fowl  was 
reared  on  the  farms  of  the  Romans,  and  that  it  was  first  made 
known  to  them  during  their  wars  in  Africa."  They  have 
hardly  found  the  favor  among  poultry  keepers  that  their  merits 
would  warrant.  They  are  prolific  layers  of  excellent  eggs,  and 
as  table  birds  are  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  They  are 
shy,  and  love  to  make  their  nests  in  dark,  obscure  places,  far 

Fig.  41. 


THE  GUINEA  FOWL. 

from  home;  for  which  reason  their  eggs  are  generally  p1  need 
under  a  common  hen  to  be  hatched  and  fostered.  They  give 
no  notice  of  laying  or  sitting. 

A  brood  of  Guinea  fowls  is  an  excellent  guard.  They  love 
roosting  in  the  trees;  and  at  night,  if  any  footstep  disturb  them, 
their  loud  cries  are  sure  to  give  notice  to  the  farmer  that  a 
trespass  is  committing. 

The  Guinea  fowl  is  delicate  eating,  and  is  in  fine  season  about 


138  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

Lent.  The  young  chickens  must  be  treated  in  the  same  man- 
ner and  with  the  same  food  as  young  turkeys,  and  they  must 
be  kept  warm  and  dry.  In  fatting,  they  should  be  shut  up  in 
a  house  for  a  fortnight,  and  fed  four  or  five  times  a  day  with 
sweet  barley-meal,  moistened  with  milk  and  good  lard.  They 
pine  if  confined  any  length  of  time. 

The  great  drawbacks  to  the  rearing  of  Guinea  fowls  are  the 
vigilance  required  to  watch  for  their  nest,  and  the  harsh  scream- 
ing of  their  cry. 

III.— THE  DOMESTIC  TUKKEY. 

The  domestic  turkey  is  not  so  far  removed  from  the  wild 
state  as  the  domestic  fowl.  There  is  no  dispute  about  his  ori- 
gin, the  wild  turkey  not  being  yet  extinct,  and  not  differing  so 
widely  from  the  tenants  of  our  barn-yards  as  to  give  room  for 
doubt  on  that  point.  In  fact,  as  it  is  stated  in  the  "American 
Poulterer's  Companion,"  if  kept  in  the  neighborhood  of  large 
forests  they  will  often  stroll  thither,  without  any  design  to 
return,  such  is  the  natural  wildness  of  their  species. 

We  have  three  varieties  of  the  domestic  turkey  in  this 
country — the  Black,  the  Buff-colored,  and  the  White.  The 
Black  is  generally  preferred,  it  being  the  most  hardy.  The 
Buff-colored  is  placed  next  in  the  order  of  merit.  The  White 
variety  is  very  beautiful,  but  is  smaller  and  less  hardy. 

Turkeys  are  generally  considered  very  difficult  to  rear ;  and 
it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  considerable  care,  patience,  and  skill 
are  required  to  insure  uniform  success.  Mr.  Bement  says: 
"  If  attempts  to  rear  turkeys  have  not  been  crowned  with  suc- 
cess, it  is  entirely  owing  to  the  unskillfulness  and  inexperience 
of  those  to  whom  they  have  been  intrusted ;  and  so  long  as  one 
persists  in  thwarting  the  females  when  sitting;  in  opening  the 
shells  of  the  eggs  in  order  to  help  the  passage  of  the  tardy 
chicks;  in  pressing  them,  so  soon  as  they  are  born,  to  eat 
against  their  will ;  and  in  leaving  them  exposed  to  intense  heat, 
or  to  cold  and  dampness,  so  long  will  their  death,  in  the  course 
of  a  month,  be  the  undoubted  consequence.  It  is  less  trouble 


POULTRY.  139 

to  say  the  breed  is  difficult  to  rear,  than  to  acknowledge  at  once 
that  negligence,  unskillfulness,  and  barbarity  are  the  causes." 

The  principal  requisites  for  the  successful  rearing  of  turkeys, 
according  to  the  experienced  author  of  the  "  Poulterer's  Com- 
panion," are  : 

1.  Good  stock  to  breed  from,  both  male  and  female.     Both 
should  be  large  and  fully  grown.     They  ought  to  be  at  least 
two  years  old. 

2.  Fresh  blood,  secured  by  changing  the  cock  every  year. 

3.  Good  keeping  through  the  winter. 

4.  No  unnecessary  interference  with  the  process  of  incuba- 
tion, which  lasts  four  weeks. 

5.  Shelter,  protection,  and  careful  feeding  of  the  chicks  for  a 
few  weeks,  after  which  the  mother  may  be  liberated  from  the 
coop  to  lead  them  out. 

Curd  chopped  fine,  crumbs  of  bread  softened  in  water  or 
milk,  are  good  for  their  first  food ;  but  they  will  soon  eat  any- 
thing that  is  fit  for  the  parent  turkey,  except  unbroken  grain. 

Early  in  the  fall  they  should  be  fed  night  and  morning  with 
dry  corn ;  and  when  the  weather  becomes  colder  they  may 
profitably  be  supplied  at  frequent  intervals  with  boiled  potatoes, 
mashed  with  corn  meal  and  skimmed  milk,  given  to  them 
warm.  On  this  diet  they  will  grow  and  fatten  rapidly. 

The  turkey  is  an  out-door  bird  and  requires,  at  most,  only  an 
open  shed  for  shelter  during  severe  storms,  and  even  this  will 
seldom  be  occupied  if  a  good  tree  be  at  hand.  They  have  not 
yet  acquired  all  the  effeminate  artificial  habits  of  the  domestic 
fowl. 

The  critical  periods  with  the  turkey  are  about  the  third  day 
after  they  are  hatched,  and  when  they  have  thrown  out  the 
"red  head,"  as  it  is  called,  which  they  do  when  about  six  weeks 
old.  To  carry  them  safely  through  the  first,  avoid  overfeeding, 
and  secure  them  against  unfavorable  changes  of  temperature. 
In  the  latter  case,  give  them  a  plenty  of  food,  and  render  it  as 
nutritious  as  possible  by  adding  boiled  eggs,  wheaten  grits, 
bruised  hemp  seed,  or  bruised  beans. 


140 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


Cobbett  says :  "  As  to  fattening  turkeys,  the  best  way  is  to 
never  let  them  get  poor.  Barley  meal  mixed  with  skimmed 
milk  and  given  them  fresh  will  make  them  fat  in  a  short  time. 
Boiled  potatoes  mixed  with  corn  meal  will  furnish  a  change  of 
sweet  food  which  they  relish  much,  and  of  which  they  may 
eat  as  much  as  they  can." 

IV.-THE  DOMESTIC  GOOSE. 

The  domestic  goose  has  acknowledged  the  sway  of  man  for 
ages — perhaps  since  the  days  of  Noah.  Homer  mentions  them, 
where  Penelope,  relating  her  dream,  says:  "I  have  twenty 
geese  at  home,  that  eat  wheat  out  of  water,  and  I  am  delighted 
to  look  at  them."  Their  cackling,  it  will  be  remembered,  saved 

Fig  42. 


EMBDEN  OR  BHEMEN  GEESE. 


POULTEY-.  Ul 

Rome  from  the  Gauls,  B.C.  388.  Their  wild  original  is  unknown, 
the  wild  geese  of  the  present  day  being  of  a  different  species. 

Of  the  common  domestic  goose  there  is  really  but  one  vari- 
ety divided  into  several  sub-varieties,  marked  by  more  or  less 
permanent  distinctive  characteristics — of  these  the  Toulouse 
goose  and  the  Bremen  goose  are  probably  the  best.  The  for- 
mer is  gray  and  the  latter  white.  The  White  China  goose  prob- 
ably belongs  to  a  distinct  species.  It  is  a  beautiful  bird,  but 
comes  properly  under  the  head  of  ornamental  poultry,  of  which 
we  have  little  to  say.  It  can  be  kept  with  advantage  only  i  ;i 
a  warm  climate. 

Where  there  are  facilities  for  keeping  them,  geese  are  consid- 
ered the  most  profitable  of  all  our  domestic  birds.  The  chief 
requisites  for  goose  keeping  are  a  pond  or  pool  of  water  and  a 
pasture  for  grazing. 

The  domestic  gander  is  polygamous,  but  should  not,  Mormon- 
like,  be  allowed  an  unlimited  number  of  wives.  Three  is  suf- 
ficient, and  some  recommend  to  allow  only  two  geese  to  each 
gander.  Comfortable  and  well-ventilated  apartments  should 
be  provided  for  geese,  so  constructed  as  to  secure  them  against 
rats,  weasels,  skunks,  etc.  A  separate  room  for  the  sitting 
goose  is  desirable.  Her  period  of  incubation  is  about  thirty 
days.  Thirteen  eggs  are  the  usual  number  given  to  the  goose. 
She  always  covers  them  when  absent  from  the  nest. 

"  On  the  first  day  after  the  goslings  are  hatched,"  Mr.  Bement 
says,  "they  may  be  let  out,  if  the  weather  be  warm,  care  being 
taken  not  to  let  them  be  exposed  to  the  unshaded  heat  of  the 
sun,  which  might  kill  them.  The  food  given  them  is  prepared 
with  some  barley  or  Indian  meal  coarsely  ground,  bran,  and 
raspings  of  bread,  which  are  still  better  if  soaked  and  boiled  in 
milk,  or  lettuce  leaves  and  crusts  of  bread  boiled  in  milk.  On 
the  second  day  a  fresh-cut  turf  is  placed  before  them,  and  its 
fine  blades  of  grass  or  clover  are  the  first  objects  which  seem 
to  tempt  their  appetites.  A  little  boiled  hominy  and  rice,  with 
bread  crumbs,  form  their  food  for  the  first  few  days,  fresh 
water  in  a  shallow  vessel,  which  they  can  dabble  in  and  out 


142  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

without  difficulty,  being  duly  provided.  Afterward  advantage 
must  be  taken  of  a  fine  warm  sun  to  turn  them  out  on  grass 
for  a  few  hours  ;  but  if  cold  and  damp,  they  should  remain  in 
their  house,  in  which  every  attention  should  be  paid  to  cleanli- 
ness by  a  constant  supply  of  clean  straw.  After  two  weeks 
we  cease  these  special  precautions  against  exposure  to  the 
weather,  and  find  them  perfectly  able  to  shift  for  themselves, 
in  company  with  their  mothers  and  the  others  of  their  race. 
For  some  weeks,  however,  extra  supplies  of  food,  such  as  bran 
or  corn  meal  mixed  with  boiled  or  steamed  vegetables,  may  be 
given  them  twice  a  day,  morning  and  evening,  continuing  to 
give  them  this  food  till  the  wings  begin  to  cross  on  the  back, 
and  after  this,  green  food,  which  may  be  mixed  with  it,  such 
as  lettuce,  cabbage,  beet  leaves,  and  such  like.  The  pond  is 
strictly  forbidden  them  under  all  circumstances  for  the  first  two 
weeks,  and  in  severer  weather  for  a  longer  period.  Exposure 
to  heavy  rain  out  of  doors,  and  a  damp  floor  in  the  house  where 
they  are  placed  at  night,  are  the  main  hazards  to  be  avoided." 
One  of  the  greatest  sources  of  profit  in  goose  keeping  is  the 
sale  of  the  feathers  ;  but  plucking  them  from  the  living  geese 
is  a  practice  so  full  of  cruelty  that  we  can  not  conscientiously 
give  any  directions  for  the  process.  A  writer  in  one  of  the 
magazines  recommends  shearing  instead  of  plucking.  He 
says:  "Feathers  are  but  of  a  year's  growth,  and  in  the  moult- 
ing season  they  spontaneously  fall  off,  and  are  supplied  by  a 
fresh  fleece.  When,  therefore,  the  geese  are  in  full  feather,  let 
the  plumage  be  removed,  very  close  to  the  skin,  by  sharp  scis- 
sors, clipping  them  off  as  sheep  are  shorn ;  they  will  be  renew- 
ed at  moulting  in  the  usual  course  of  nature.  The  produce 
would  not  be  much  reduced  in  quantity,  while  the  quality 
would  be  greatly  improved,  and  an  indemnification  be  experi- 
enced in  the  consciousness  of  not  having  tortured  the  poor  bird, 
and  in  the  uninjured  health  of  the  fowl,  and  the  benefit  obtain- 
ed in  the  succeeding  crop.  After  this  operation  shall  have 
been  performed,  the  down  from  the  breast  may  be  removed 
by  the  same  means." 


POULTRY. 

V.-THE  DOMESTIC  DUCK. 

The  origin  of  the  tame  duck  is  not  a  well  settled  point. 
Dixon  supposes  it  to  have  been  imported  from  India  and  China 
in  or  about  the  year  1493. 

Of  the  numerous  varieties  known  to  the  poulterer,  Mr. 
Giles,  of  Woodstock,  Conn.,  whom  we  have  already  had  occa- 
sion to  quote,  recommends,  for  those  who  desire  to  keep  ducks 
for  use  and  not  for  ornament  merely,  the  Rouen,  the  Java,  and 
the  Aylesbury. 

The  Rouen  duck,  originally  from  Rouen,  France,  is  of  a 
dark-brown  plumage ;  legs  and  feet  a  dark  dusky  red ;  bill  at 
the  base  black,  tapering  down  toward  the  point  a  dark  green, 
sometimes  streaked  with  yellow ;  long  in  the  body,  with  a 
small  neck.  The  drakes  are  invariably  the  color  of  the  wild 
Mallard  drake,  having  a  white  ring  around  the  neck ;  legs  and 
feet  a  bright  red;  bill  a  bright  yellow  ;  flesh  darker  and  higher 
flavored  than  the  common  duck.  Very  prolific,  hardy,  and 
easy  to  raise ;  will  weigh  at  full  maturity  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  pounds  a  pair. 

The  Java  duck,  originally  from  Java.  Plumage  a  glossy 
black ;  neck  long ;  round  body  ;  legs  and  feet  black,  and  black 
bill.  Drakes  are  black,  head  and  neck  bordering  on  a  dark 
green  ;  yellow  bill ;  with  bright  red  legs  and  feet.  The  Java 
ducks  will  attain  to  nearly  the  same  weight  as  the  Rouens — 
flesh  similar. 

The  Aylesbury  duck,  originally  from  the  town  of  Aylesbury, 
England.  Plumage  a  beautiful  white,  with  white  bill;  legs 
and  feet  a  bright  pink,  ornamental  in  appearance;  easy  to 
propagate;  producing  white  downy  feathers,  white  skin,  and 
delicate,  savory  flesh ;  will  weigh  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  pounds 
the  pair.  Sit  the  eggs  under  hens,  and  have  them  hatch  out 
early.  With  care  you  can  have  large  ducks. 

The  Wild  Mallard  duck  is  often  domesticated.  It  is  a  very 
beautiful  bird  and  becomes  quite  tame,  rearing  broods  like  the 
common  duck ;  but  no  permanent  tame  race  has  yet  been  de- 
rived from  them. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

The  Musk  or  Brazilian  duck  is  from  the  tropical  regions  or 
South  America.  It  is  a  singular  bird  in  appearance  and  in 
habits,  but  we  see  little  to  recommend  it,  either  for  use  or  orna- 
ment. 

The  Wood  duck,  the  most  beautiful  of  its  genus,  so  common 
in  all  parts  of  the  North  American  continent,  is  also  easily 
domesticated.  It  also  will  breed  in  its  domesticated  state. 

Ducks  are  easily  kept  where  there  is  access  to  a  pond,  pool, 
stream,  or  swamp.  They  will  eat  almost  anything,  animal  or 
vegetable.  The  refuse  of  the  kitchen  garden  is  always  accept- 
able to  them,  and  where  grass  is  not  attainable,  something  of 
this  kind  must  be  regularly  supplied. 

•'The  duck-house,"  Bement  says,  "should,  if  possible,  be  of 
brick,  and  paved  with  the  same  material,  with  considerable  in- 
clination, so  that  the  wet,  when  the  floor  is  sluiced  down,  may 
ait  once  pass  off.  Wood  is  seldom  secure  against  rats,  and  does 
not  so  well  suit  the  cleaning  process  of  water  and  the  lime- 
brush,  and  few  places  require  their  application  more  frequently. 
Do  not  crowd  your  birds,  and  always  arrange  for  good  venti- 
lation. When  the  flock  is  large,  separate  the  young  ones,  that 
they  may  thus  have  the  advantage  of  better  food,  and  that  no 
risk  may  be  incurred  of  finding  the  eggs  of  the  older  ones  trod- 
den under  foot  and  broken  at  your  morning  visit.  On  this  ac- 
count the  laying  ducks  should  always  have  plenty  of  room,  and 
be  kept  by  themselves.  Ducks,  for  these  reasons,  as  well  as 
for  the  sake  of  cleanliness,  should  never  share  the  habitation  of 
fowls,  and  from  geese  they  are  liable  to  persecution.  Yet, 
where  fowls  are  kept,  a  little  contrivance  will  suffice  to  make 
their  berth,  even  in  a  fowl-house,  tolerably  comfortable.  In 
winter,  a  thin  bedding  of  straw  or  rushes  should  be  placed  on 
the  floor,  and  frequently  changed." 

The  duck  is  a  prolific  layer,  and  her  eggs  are  very  rich  and 
highly  flavored,  and  are  much  relished  by  some  persons.  One 
duck's  egg  is  considered  of  equal  culinary  value  to  two  fowl's 
eggs. 

According  to  Mr.  Parmentier,  one  drake  is  sufficient  for 


146  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

eight  or  ten  ducks,  but  others  limit  the  number  to  from  four 
to  six. 

Ducks  are  not  so  easily  persuaded  to  lay  in  nests  prepared 
for  them,  but  prefer  to  choose  a  place  out-of-doors  to  deposit 
their  eggs.  If  the  nest  selected  be  tolerably  secure,  it  is  better 
to  allow  them  to  sit  there  than  to  attempt  their  removal. 
Thirteen  eggs  are  a  full  allowance  for  a  duck,  and  these  should 
be  as  fresh  as  possible.  The  period  of  incubation  varies  con- 
siderably, but  twenty-eight  days  is  perhaps  about  the  average 
time.  The  treatment  of  the  young  brood  should  be  similar  to 
that  recommended  for  goslings.  Boiled  potatoes  and  hominy, 
or  coarse  corn  meal,  make  excellent  food  for  them.  It  is  better 
to  give  them  no  uncooked  food  for  several  weeks  after  they  are 
hatched. 

To  fatten  ducks  you  must  give  them  a  plenty  of  good  gram 
(corn  and  oats  are  to  be  preferred),  and  riot  allow  them  access 
to  too  much  garbage.  All  fish  and  flesh,  and  especially  putrid 
animal  matter,  of  which  they  are  fond,  must  be  excluded  from 
their  diet,  or  the  flavor  of  their  flesh  will  be  destroyed. 

VI.— PEEPAEATION  OF  POULTRY  FOE  MAEKET. 

Messrs.  Drew  &  French,  extensive  dealers  in  farm  and 
market-garden  produce,  fruits,  eggs,  poultry,  etc.,  85  Barclay 
Street,  New  York,  in  answer  to  various  inquiries  addressed  to 
them,  carefully  prepared  and  published,  some  time  ago,  the  fol- 
lowing directions,  which  should  be  as  carefully  followed  by  all 
who  send  poultry  to  the  city  markets  and  wish  to  get  the 
highest  price  for  it : 

"First — Give  no  food  for  twenty-four  hours  previous  to 
killing.  Food  in  the  crop  is  liable  to  sour,  and  always  injures 
the  sale.  Purchasers  object  to  paying  for  undigested  food. 

"  Second — '  Sticking'  in  the  neck  with  a  penknife  is  the  best 
mode  of  killing.  If  the  head  is  cut  off,  the  skin  recedes,  and 
the  neck  bone  looks  repulsive. 

"  Third — Most  of  the  poultry  coming  to  this  market  is  badly 
*  scalded'  or  '  wet  picked.'  *  Dry  picked'  is  preferred,  and  sells 


POULTRY.  147 

a  little  higher,  other  things  being  equal.  Great  care  should 
be  taken  in  picking  to  remove  all  the  pin-feathers,  and  to  avoid 
tearing  the  skin,  particularly  upon  the  legs,  where  it  is  most 
likely  to  be  broken.  If  properly  scalded,  it  looks  best. 

"Fourth — The  intestines  should  not  be  drawn.  After  pick- 
ing, the  head  may  be  taken  off,  and  the  skin  drawn  over  the 
neck  bone  and  tied.  This  is  best,  though  much  comes  with 
heads  on. 

"Fifth — Next  in  order,  it  should  be  'plumped,'  by  being 
dipped  about  two  seconds  into  water  nearly  or  quite  boiling 
hot,  and  then  at  once  into  cold  water  about  the  same  length  of 
time.'  Some  think  the  hot  plunge  sufficient  without  the  cold. 
It  should  be  entirely  cold  but  not  frozen,  before  being  packed. 
If  it  reaches  market  sound  without  freezing,  it  will  sell  all 
the  better. 

"  Sixth — For  packing,  if  practicable,  use  clean  hand-threshed 
rye  straw.  If  this  can  not  be  had,  wheat  or  oat  straw  will  an- 
swer, if  clean  and  free  from  dust.  Place  a  layer  of  straw  at 
the  bottom  of  the  box,  then  alternate  layers  of  poultry  and 
straw — taking  care  to  stow  snugly,  backs  upward,  filling  vacan- 
cies with  straw,  and  filling  the  package  so  that  the  cover  will 
draw  down  snugly  upon  the  contents.  Boxes  holding  not  over 
300  Ibs.  are  the  best  packages. 

"Seventh — Number  the  packages;  mark  the  contents  of 
each  on  the  cover ;  place  the  invoice  of  the  lot  in  one  package, 
marked  'bill,'  sending  duplicate  by  mail;  direct  plainly  to  the 
consignee,  placing  the  name  of  the  consigner  in  one  corner." 


148 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


IX. 

BEE- KEEPING. 

Oh,  Nature  kind  !    Oh,  laborer  wise  ! 

That  roam'st  along  the  summer  ray, 
Glean'st  ev'ry  bliss  thy  life  supplies, 

And  meet'st  prepar'd  thy  wintry  day  : 
Go — envied,  go — with  crowded  gates, 
The  hive  thy  rich  return  awaits  ; 
Bear  home  thy  store  in  triumph  gay, 
And  shame  each  idler  on  thy  way. — Anon. 

I.-THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  BEE-HIVE. 

HE  accounts  given,  by  naturalists  and  writers  on 
bee-keeping,  of  the  instincts  and  habits  of  the 
bee  seem  truly  fabulous ;  and  yet  they  are  all 
founded  on  observation,  and  there  seems  to  be 
no  reason  for  calling  them  in  question. 
A  hive  of  bees,  we  are  told,  consists  of  three  kinds — females, 
males,  and  workers.     The  females  are  called  queens,  and  only 


Fig.  44. 


Fig.  45. 


THE  QUEEN  Bi 


THE  DRONE. 


one  is  permitted  to  live  in  the  same  hive ;  but  one  is  essential 
to  its  establishment  and  maintenance.  The  males  are  called 
drones,  and  may  exist  in  hundreds,  or  even  thousands,  in  a 


149 


TUB  WOKKEB. 


hive.  The  workers,  or  neuters,  are  the  most  numerous,  and 
perform  all  the  labor,  collecting  the  honey,  secreting  the  wax, 
and  building  the  cells.  The  females  Fig.  46. 

and  workers  have  stings  at  the  end 
of  the  abdomen,  but  the  drones  have 
none.  The  queen  lives  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  hive,  and  seldom  leaves 
it  except  to  lead  forth  a  swarm.  If 
she  be  removed  from  the  hive,  the 
whole  swarm  will  follow  her.  The 
queen  is  not  only  the  governor,  but  also  the  mother  of  the  com- 
munity, she  being  the  only  breeder  out  of  20,000  or  30,000 
bees,  on  which  account  she  is  loved,  respected,  and  obeyed  with 
all  the  external  marks  of  devotion  which  human  beings  could 
give  to  a  beloved  monarch. 

The  queen  deposits  her  eggs  in  cells  previously  prepared  by 
the  workers  to  receive  them.  The  eggs  producing  workers  are 
deposited  in  six-sided  horizontal  cells ;  the  cells  of  the  drones 
are  somewhat  irregular ;  those  of  the  queens  are  larger  than 
the  others,  circular,  and  hang  perpendicularly.  The  eggs  pro- 
ducing workers  are  laid  first,  the  queen  laying  about  two  hun- 
dred eggs  daily.  The  eggs  of  the  drones  afterward  laid  are  less 
numerous  than  those  of  the  workers,  in  the  proportion  of  about 
one  to  thirty.  Eggs  for  queens  are  deposited  in  their  proper  cells, 
Fig.  47.  one  in  each,  at  intervals  of  one  or  two  days. 

The  eggs  and  larvae  of  the  royal  family  do  not 
differ  in  appearance  from  those  of  the  work- 
ers, but  the  young  are  more  carefully  nurs- 
ed, and  fed  with  a  more  stimulating  kind  of 
food  called  "royal  jelly,"  which  causes  them 
to  grow  so  rapidly  that  in  five  days  the  larva 
is  prepared  to  spin  its  web,  and  on  the  six- 
teenth day  becomes  a  perfect  queen.  But 
as  only  one  queen  can  reign  in  the  hive, 
A  KOYAL  CELL.  the  young  ones  are  kept  close  prisoners;  and 
carefully  guarded  against  the  attacks  of  the  queen  mother 


150 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


so  long  as  there  is  any  prospect  of  her  leading  out  a  swarm. 
When  the  old  queen  departs  with  a  swarm,  a  young  one  is 
liberated,  who  immediately  seeks  the  destruction  of  her  sisters, 
but  is  prevented  by  the  guards.  If  she  lead  forth  another 
swarm,  a  second  queen  is  liberated,  and  so  on  until  further 
swarming  is  considered  impossible,  when  the  reigning  queen  is 
permitted  to  destroy  her  sisters.  In  cases  where  no  new 
swarm  is  to  be  sent  off,  the  queen  mother  is  permitted  to 
assume  the  office  of  destroyer.  If  at  any  time  two  queens 
happen  to  come  out  simultaneously,  it  is  said  that  a  mortal 
combat  takes  place  at  once,  and  the  victor  is  acknowledged  to 
be  the  rightful  sovereign.  On  the  loss  of  a  queen,  the  whole 
swarm  is  thrown  into  the  greatest  confusion,  and  if  there  be 
no  worker  eggs  or  brood  out  of  which  a  queen  can  be  made 
by  the  peculiar  process  of  feeding  already  mentioned,  all  labor 
ceases  and  the  bees  soon  die. 

There  are  three  substances  for  which  the  bees  forage  the 
fields.  First,  a  resin,  or  gum,  which  is  on  trees;  next,  the 
pollen,  or  fine  dust,  of  flowers ;  and  lastly,  the  saccharine  mat- 
ter that  is  in  the  flowers.  When  the  cells  are  to  be  built,  they 
bring  home  the  resin,  and  stop  all  the  cracks  or  crevices  in  the 
Fig.  48.  hive,  so  that  neither  the 

rain  nor  any  insect  can 
get  in  to  trouble  them. 
Then  they  set  forth  to 
bring  materials  for  wax, 
to  construct  their  cells. 
The  wax  is  made  from 
pollen.  The  bees  swallow 
it,  and  then  hang  them- 
selves in  festoons  in  the 
hive.  In  the  course  of 
twenty -four  hours  small 
rings  make  their  appear- 

FE9TOON8  OF  BOB   SECBETINO  WAX.  ance    Qn   ^  J^        Then 

the  bee  detaches  itself  from  the  rest  of  the  group,  and,  descend- 


BEE-KEEPING. 


151 


ing  to  the  bottom  of  the  hive,  removes  the  substance  which 
Fig.  49.  has  now  become  wax.     Each  bee  fol- 

lows in  its  turn,  and  deposits  its  con- 
tribution, which  is  directly  made  use 
of  by  the  architects  in  building  the 
cells. 

A  WAX-WOEKEB.  The  honey-cells  are  all  six-sided,  and 

of  the  most  perfect  regularity.     Were  they  squares,  or  trian- 
gles, or  circles,  they  would  Fig.  so. 
not  fit  as  closely  together, 
consequently  there  would 
be  a  waste  of  room. 

"There  is  a  substance 
called  bee  bread,  which  is 
necessary  to  the  life  of  the 
bee.  It  is  made  from  pol- 
len, but  is  entirely  unlike 
wax.  In  securing  it,  the 
bee  darts  into  a  flower, 
and  covers  its  body  with  the  yellow  dust.  Now  it  must  con- 
trive some  way  to  get  rid  of  it,  and  God  has  made  the  last  joint 
but  one  of  each  leg  like  a  brush.  These  brushes  are  passed  all 
Fig.  51.  Over  the  body,  and  the  pollen  is  collected 

in  two  little  heaps.  The  thighs  of  the  last 
pair  of  the  bees'  legs  are  furnished  with 
two  cavities,  and  these  make  nice  little  bas- 
kets to  carry  home  their  treasure.  The 
dust  collected  from  a  thousand  flowers  is 
now  kneaded  into  little  balls,  and  when 
these  have  increased  to  the  size  of  a  grain 
of  pepper,  the  bee  flies  home,  and  enters 
the  cell  head  foremost.  The  balls  are  then 
BEE'S  LB«  MAGNIFIED,  taken  from  the  baskets,  and,  being  moist- 
ened with  a  little  honey,  become  bee  bread."* 


Student  and  Schoolmate. 


152  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

One  of  the  greatest  wonders  of  the  bee-hive  is  the  mode  in 
which  it  is  ventilated.     Fresh  air  is  no  less  necessary  to  bees 
Fig.  52.  tnan  to  human  beings,  and  as 

no  provision  is  made  for  its  sup- 
ply in  the  construction  of  their 
dwelling,  they  secure  it  in  this 
way :  "  They  arrange  them- 
selves in  files  along  the  bottom 
of  the  hive.  Those  outside 
place  their  heads  toward  the 
entrance,  and  those  within  in 
an  opposite  direction.  When 
thus  stationed,  they  flap  their 
wings  so  rapidly  that  we  can 
GLASS  HIVE,  SHOWING  THE  ABBANGE-  not  see  that  they  have  any 

MENT  OP  COMB.  wingg  at  alL     Thig  rap.d  motion 

drives  a  current  of  air  into  the  hive,  to  keep  the  honey  and 
comb  cool." 

II.— THE  APIAEY  AND  HIVES. 

The  situation  selected  for  an  apiary  or  bee-house  should  be 
well  sheltered  from  strong  winds,  and  should  not  be  near  any 
large  sheet  of  water.  The  hives  should  face  the  south,  the 
east,  or  the  southeast.  They  should  be  placed  in  a  right  line ; 
and  it  is  better  to  place  them  on  shelves,  one  above  another, 
than  in  rows  upon  the  ground.  The  distance  between  the 
hives  should  be  not  less  than  two  feet,  and  their  height  from 
the  ground  about  the  same.  Near  the  apiary  should  be  some 
small  trees  and  shrubbery,  on  which  swarms  may  alight ;  but 
large  trees  are  objectionable.  The  grass  should  be  frequently 
mowed  around  the  bee-house,  to  prevent  dampness  and  destroy 
the  lurking-places  of  noxious  vermin. 

Much  difference  of  opinion  exists  in  reference  to  the  best 
form  and  construction  for  a  bee-hive,  and  many  ingenious  plans 
have  been  offered  by  the  inventive  genius  of  our  country  for 
their  improvement.  Some  of  these  have  peculiar  excellences 


BEE-KEEPING.  153 

and  are  worthy  of  a  careful  trial,  but  few  if  any  of  them  are 
without  some  serious  objections  ;  so  that  practical  bee-keepers 
generally  prefer  hives  of  the  simplest  construction.  One  of  the 
best  hives  is  made  of  pine  boards  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a 
quarter  thick.  The  best  size  is  twelve  inches  square  inside  and 
fourteen  inches  deep.  The  top  should  be  made  of  boards  fifteen 
inches  square.  The  boards  should  be  joined  carefully,  and  it  is 
well  to  apply  a  coat  of  paint  to  the  edges  before  putting  them 
together.  Small  notches  should  be  made  at  the  bottom  for  the 
passage  of  the  bees  ;  and  cross  sticks  put  in  for  the  support  of 
the  comb.  If  the  inside  of  the  hive  be  planed  and  covered  with 
a  thin  coating  of  melted  beeswax,  it  will  save  the  bees  much 
labor.  Boxes  for  caps  or  covers  may  be  fitted  to  these  hives. 
These  may  be  about  seven  inches  deep  and  twelve  square. 
They  must  fit  closely  the  tops  of  the  hives,  and  may  be  furnished 
with  glass  jars  or  other  vessels  for  the  reception  of  the  honey. 
Several  holes  should  be  made  in  the  top  of  the  hive  for  the  pas- 
sage of  the  bees. 

In  Poland,  where  finer  honey  is  produced  and  bees  more 
successfully  cultivated  than  anywhere  else,  the  excavated  trunks 
of  trees  are  used  for  hives.  Logs  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter 
and  nine  feet  long  are  scooped  or  bored  for  the  length  of  six 
feet  from  one  end,  the  bore  being  from  six  to  eight  inches  in 
diameter.  A  longitudinal  slit  is  made  in  this  hollow  cylinder 
nearly  the  whole  length  and  four  inches  wide.  Into  this  slit  is 
fitted  a  slip  of  wood  with  notches  on  the  edges  large  enough  to 
admit  a  single  bee.  This  slip  is  hung  on  hinges  and  forms  a 
door,  by  the  opening  of  which  the  condition  of  the  swarm  can 
be  seen  and  the  honey  be  taken  out.  The  top  being  covered, 
the  trunk  is  set  upright,  with  the  opening  toward  the  south. 
Sections  of  hollow  trees  are  often  used  in  this  country  for  hives. 

It  is  often  desirable  to  carry  honey  to  market  without  re- 
moving it  from  the  hive  in  which  it  was  made,  and  as  few 
persons  will  purchase  the  contents  of  a  large  hive,  one  con- 
structed in  sections  has  a  great  advantage  in  that  particular  at 
least. 

7* 


154 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


-  53. 


According  to  the  views  of  Mr.  Harasti,  a  skillful  bee-cultiva- 
tor, as  quoted  in  the  "Farmer's  Encyclopedia,"  a  good  bee-hive 
ought  to  possess  the  following  properties  :  First,  it  should  be 
capable  of  enlargement  or  contraction  according  to  the  size  of 
the  swarm.  Secondly,  it  should  admit  of  being  opened  with- 
out disturbing  the  bees,  either  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  it 
from  insects,  increasing  or  dividing  the  swarm,  etc.  Thirdly, 
it  should  be  so  constructed  that  the  produce  may  be  removed 
without  injury  to  the  bees.  Fourthly,  it  should  be  internally 
clean,  smooth,  and  free  from  cracks  or  flaws.  All  these  prop- 
erties seem  best  united  in  the  section-hive,  which  is  constituted 

of  two,  three,  four,  or  more 
square  boxes  of  similar  size 
as  to  width,  placed  over 
each  other.  Such  hives 
are  cheap,  and  so  simple 
that  almost  any  one  can 
construct  them. 

The  boxes  A,  B,  C,  D 
may  be  made  from  ten  to 
fourteen  inches  square  and 
about  five  inches  in  depth, 
inside  measure.  Every 
bee-keeper  should  have  his 
A  SECTIONAL  HIVE.  boxes  made  of  the  same 

size,  so  as  to  fit  on  to  each  other.  Every  hive  must  have  a 
common  top-board,  a,  which  should  project  over  the  sides  of  the 
hive.  The  top-board  of  each  section  should  have  about  sixteen 
holes  bored  through  at  equal  distances  from  each  other,  and  not 
larger  than  three  fourths  or  smaller  than  four  fifths  of  an  inch. 
Or,  instead  of  such  holes,  chinks  of  proper  size  may  be  cut 
through  to  allow  the  bees  to  pass  up  and  down.  At  the  lower 
part  of  each  box  or  section,  in  front,  there  must  be  an  aperture 
or  little  door,  c,  c,  c,  d,  just  high  enough  to  let  the  bees  pass, 
and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  wide.  The  lowermost  aperture, 
d,  is  to  be  left  open  at  first,  and  when  the  hive  is  filled  the  upper 


BEE-KEEPING.  155 

ones  may  be  successively  opened.  By  placing  over  the  holes  in 
the  top  of  the  upper  section,  glass  globes,  jars,  tumblers,  or 
boxes,  the  bees  will  rise  into  and  fill  them  with  honey.  These 
may  be  removed  at  any  time  after  being  filled.  The  holes  in  the 
tops  of  the  hive  which  do  not  open  into  the  glasses  or  boxes 
should  of  course  be  plugged  up.  These  glass  jars,  etc.,  must 
be  covered  over  with  a  box,  so  as  to  keep  them  in  the  dark. 
Every  box  or  section,  on  the  side  opposite  the  little  door, 
should  have  a  narrow  piece  of  glass  inserted,  with  a  sliding 
shutter,  by  drawing  out  which  the  condi-  Fig- 

tion  of  the  hive  can  always  be  inspected. 
To  make  the  bees  place  their  combs  in  par- 
allel lines,  five  or  six  sticks  or  bars  may  be 
placed  at  the  top  of  every  section,  running 
from  front  to  rear.  The  bees  will  attach 
their  combs  to  these  bars,  and  the  interme- 
diate space  will  aiford  sufficient  light  to  see  them  work.  The 
slides  covering  the  glasses  should  never  be  left  open  longer  than 
is  just  necessary  for  purposes  of  inspection. 

When  one  section  is  removed  from  the  top,  a  wire  or  long 
thin  knife  must  be  previously  run  between  this  and  the  one 
immediately  below,  so  as  to  destroy  the  attachments.  Then 
remove  the  upper  section,  placing  the  top  upon  the  one  below, 
which  is  now  the  highest  division  of  the  hive.  Another  section 
is  to  be  placed  beneath,  lifting  up  the  whole  hive  for  the  pur- 
pose. Sometimes  a  second  section  has  to  be  put  under  during 
a  good  season.  If  the  swarm  is  not  very  large,  three  or  even 
two  boxes  will  be  sufficient  for  its  accommodation.  The  boxes 
or  sections  may  be  secured  upon  each  other  by  buttons,  #,  5, 
or  rabbets,  and  the  joints  closed  with  cement. 
,  The  plan  of  Mr.  Luda,  of  Connecticut,  by  which  the  bees  are 
made  to. build  their  cells  and  deposit  their  honey  in  the  cham- 
ber of  a  dwelling-house  appropriated  for  the  purpose,  in  neat 
little  drawers,  from  which  it  may  be  taken  fresh  by  the  owner, 
without  killing  the  bees,  has  obtained  deserved  celebrity.  The 
hive  has  the  appearance  of,  and  is,  in  part,  a  mahogany  bureau 


156  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

or  sideboard,  with  drawers  above  and  a  closet  below,  with 
glass  doors.  This  case  or  bureau  is  designed  to  be  placed  in 
the  chamber  of  a  house,  or  any  other  suitable  building,  and 
connected  with  the  open  air  or  outside  of  the  house  by  a  tube 
passing  through  the  wall.  The  bees  work  and  deposit  their 
honey  in  drawers.  When  these  or  any  of  them  are  full,  or  it 
is  desired  to  obtain  honey,  one  or  more  of  them  may  be  taken 
out,  the  bees  allowed  to  escape  into  the  other  parts  of  the  hive, 
and  the  honey  taken  away.  The  glass  doors  allow  the  work- 
ing of  the  bees  to  be  observed ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  spacious- 
ness, cleanliness,  and  even  the  more  regular  temperature  of 
such  habitations,  render  them  the  more  industrious  and  suc- 
cessful. 

III.— GENERAL  DIRECTIONS. 

1.  Swarming. — Huish,  in  his  "Treatise  on  Bees,"  says: 
"  The  swarming  of  'bees  generally  commences  in  June ;  in  some 
seasons  earlier,  and  in  cold  climates  or  seasons  later.  The  first 
swarming  is  so  long  preceded  by  the  appearance  of  drones  and 
hanging  out  of  working  bees,  that  if  the  time  of  their  leaving 
the  hive  is  not  observed  it  must  be  owing  to  want  of  care. 
The  signs  of  the  second  are,  however,  more  equivocal,  the 
most  certain  being  that  of  the  queen,  a  day  or  two  before 
swarming,  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes,  giving  out  a  sound  a 
good  deal  resembling  that  of  a  cricket.  It  frequently  happens 
that  the  swarm  will  leave  the  old  hive  and  return  again  several 
times,  which  is  always  owing  to  the  queen  not  having  accom- 
panied them,  or  from  having  dropped  on  the  ground,  being  too 
young  to  fly  to  a  distance.  Gooseberry,  currant,  or  other  low 
bushes,  should  be  planted  at  a  short  distance  from  the  hives, 
for  the  bees  to  swarm  upon,  otherwise  they  are  apt  to  fly 
away." 

When  they  collect  where  they  can  not  be  shaken  off  and  the 
hive  can  not  be  placed  near  them,  they  may  be  brushed  off 
into  a  gauze  sack,  or  any  vessel  in  which  they  can  be  kept  and 
carried  to  the  hive,  which  should  be  set  upon  a  table  a  little 


BEE-KEEPING.  157 

raised  on  one  side  to  allow  their  passage.  If  seen  before  they 
alight,  they  may  often  be  secured  by  drawing  a  large  woolen 
stocking  upon  the  end  of  a  pole  and  holding  it  up  among  them, 
as  they  are  apt  to  consider  it  a  favorable  object  on  which  to 
collect. 

"  When  a  hive  yields  more  than  two  swarms,  these  should 
uniformly  be  joined  to  others  that  are  weak,  as,  from  the  late- 
ness of  the~  season  and  deficiency  in  number,  they  will  other- 
wise perish.  This  junction  is  easily  formed,  by  inverting  at 
night  the  hive  in  which  they  are,  and  placing  over  it  the  one 
you  intend  them  to  enter.  They  soon  ascend,  and  apparently 
with  no  opposition  from  the  former  possessors.  Should  the 
weather  for  some  days  after  swarming  be  unfavorable  for  the 
bees  going  out,  they  must  be  fed  with  care  until  it  clears  up, 
otherwise  the  young  swarm  will  run  great  risk  of  dying." 

Some  recommend  drawing  off  swarms  without  waiting  for 
them  to  set  forth  of  their  own  accord.  We  find  the  process 
thus  described  in  the  Southern  Homestead  : 

u  Those  who  are  using  a  common  hive  when  desiring  to 
draw  off  a  swarm,  should  let  the  hive  be  turned  bottom  up- 
ward, and  the  new  hive  set  upon  it ;  strike  lightly  upon  the 
lower  hive,  and  many  of  the  bees  will  ascend  into  the  upper 
hive  ;  when  a  sufficient  number  has  collected  in  the  new  hive 
for  a  swarm,  take  it  off  and  set  it  upon  the  bench,  and  return 
the  old  one  to  its  former  position.  In  doing  this,  to  insure 
success,  it  is  necessary  that  one  of  the  queens  should  accompany 
the  new  swarm,  which  may  be  known  in  the  course  of  a  day 
or  two,  for  if  they  have  no  queen,  they  will  not  stay  in  the 
new  hive,  but  will  return  to  the  old  one ;  but  if  they  have  a 
queen,  they  soon  manifest  a  disposition  to  commence  work,  and 
in  the  course  of  twenty^four  hours  some  of  the  bees  may  be 
seen  standing  near  the  entrance  of  the  hive,  amusing  themselves 
by  raising  their  bodies  to  the  full  length  of  their  legs,  and  giv- 
ing then*  wings  a  rapid  motion,  making  a  steady  buzzing 
noise.  This  may  be  considered  as  an  indication  of  their  satis- 
faction and  the  success  of  the  operation.  Some  consider  mid- 


158  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

day  the  most  favorable  time  for  doing  this ;  others  again  prefer 
the  evening — but  either  will  answer,  and  the  trouble  attending 
is  not  greater  than  that  of  hiving  them  when  the  swarms  are 
allowed  to  come  out  in  the  common  manner,  and  the  danger  of 
having  them  go  off  is  avoided.  Another  very  great  advantage 
of  this  method  is,  the  young  swarms  commence  working  early, 
by  which  they  are  more  likely  to  lay  up  sufficient  food  for  the 
whiter." 

2.  Robbing  the  Hives. — The  old  practice,  still  followed  by 
many,  is  to  kill  the  bees  by  suffocation,  whenever  the  most 
favorable  time  has  arrived  for  taking  the  honey.     To  suffocate 
the  bees,  the  hive  is  inverted  over  an  empty  hive  or  a  hole  in 
the  ground  in  which  some  rags  smeared  with  sulphur  are  burn- 
ing.    The  bees  drop  down  and  are  buried  to  prevent  resuscita- 
tion.    This  is  believed  by  some  shrewd  and  experienced  bee- 
keepers to  be  the  most  profitable  if  not  the  most  humane  plan. 

Polish  apiarists  cut  out  the  comb  annually  to  lessen  the 
tendency  to  swarming,  and  thus  obtain  the  largest  amount  of 
honey.  In  sectional  hives  it  is  readily  taken  out  without  killing 
the  bees ;  and  where  these  improved  hives,  as  they  are  called, 
are  not  used,  the  comb  may  be  cut  out  by  merely  stupefying 
the  bees  with  sulphur  or  tobacco  smoke.  The  time  for  taking 
up  hives  depends  somewhat  upon  the  season  and  pasturage; 
but  the  quantity  of  honey  does  not  generally  increase  after  the 
first  of  September. 

3.  Wintering. — To  winter  safely  a  swarm  of  bees,  thirty 
pounds  of  honey  are  considered  requisite.     Only  strong  swarms 
are  profitable  to  winter ;  therefore  those  that  are  found  in  the 
fall  to  be  weak  in  numbers  and  with  little  honey  had  better  be 
taken  up.     In  the  northern  portions  of  the  United  States  means 
are  generally  used  to  protect  the  swarms  in  winter,  by  removal 
to  some  cool  and  dry  out-house  or  cellar ;  but  many  apiarists 
contend  that  this  practice  is  not  only  useless  but  hurtful,  and 
that  hives  should  not  be  removed  from  their  usual  situations. 

4.  Feeding. — Bees  are  sometimes  fed,  when  not  able  to  sup- 
ply their  own  wants,  with  a  syrup  made  by  dissolving  brown 


BEE-KEEPING.  159 

sugar  in  water  and  then  boiling  it  to  evaporate  the  water. 
Honey  is  the  best  food,  but  is  generally  (unless  "  Southern"  or 
West  India  honey  be  used)  too  expensive ;  and,  in  fact,  as  a 
matter  of  profit,  feeding  should  never  be  attempted. 

5.  Killing  the  Drones. — Knowing  that  the  drones  consume 
an  immense  amount  of  honey  without  producing  any,  and  be- 
lieving that  a  few  of  them  will  answer  all  the  purposes  required, 
Mr.  P.  J.  Mahan,  of  Philadelphia,  recommends  getting  rid  of 
them,  and  thus  saving  the  honey  that  they  would  consume. 
His  plan  for  accomplishing  this  is  to  cut  out  the  comb  contain- 
ing the  cells  in  which  they  are  to  hatch.  This,  he  says,  is  dif- 
ficult in  the  common  or  box-hive  and  quite  impossible  in  nearly 
all  patent  hives;  but  quite  easy  in  Rev.  L.  L.  Langstroth's 
Movable  Comb  Hive,  in  which  the  combs  are  built  in  a  frame, 
similar  to  a  slate  or  a  picture  in  a  frame,  which  being  suspend- 
ed on  a  narrow  rabbet  do  not  touch  or  ct>me  in  contact  with 
the  hive  at  the  top,  bottom,  or  sides.  Old  combs  can  be  put 
into  the  frames  and  be  given  to  the  bees  to  fill  for  their  own 
use  or  for  breeding  combs. 

"  By  cutting  out  the  combs  referred  to,"  Mr.  Mahan  contin- 
ues, "the  bee-keeper  makes  a  saving  of  all  the  honey  fed  to 
them  before  they  are  matured ;  the  time  occupied  by  the  bees 
in  feeding  and  nursing  them  ;  and  last,  though  not  least,  assum- 
ing one  foot  as  the  average,  which  is  capable  of  producing  over 
4,000  drones,  by  destroying  this  there  is  space  sufficient  to  build 
combs  in  which  T,200  cells  for  hatching  the  workers  will  be 
erected  ;  which,  as  we  have  done  away  with  the  drones,  is  fully 
equal  to  an  accession  of  14,400  working  bees."* 

This  matter  is  certainly  worthy  of  the  attention  of  bee-keep- 
ers, and  should  be  fully  investigated.! 

*  Southern  Planter. 

t  A  large  portion  of  the  matter  in  th  s  chapter,  not  credited  to  other  sources, 
has  been  condensed  from  the  excellent  articles  on  "  Bees  and  Bee-Keeping," 
in  the  "  New  American  Encyclopedia." 


APPENDIX. 


HOESE-TAMING-EAEEY'S    SYSTEM. 

1.  THE  THEORY. 

THE  one  principle  which  you  must  establish  firmly  in  your  mind,  and  which 
is  so  essential  in  horse-taming  that  it  is  almost  the  corner-stone  of  the  theory 
is  the  law  of  kindness.  Next  to  kindness  you  must  have  patience,  and  next  to 
patience  indomitable  perseverance.  With  these  qualities  in  us,  and  not  pos- 
sessing fear  or  anger,  we  undertake  to  tame  horses,  with  perfect  assurance  of 
success,  if  we  use  the  proper  means.  The  horse  receives  instruction  in,  and 
by  the  use  of,  four  of  his  senses— namely,  seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  and  feel- 
ing. You  must  remember  that  the  horse  is  a  dumb  brute,  has  not  the  faculty 
of  reasoning  on  experiments  that  you  make  on  him,  but  is  governed  by  instinct. 
In  a  natural  state  he  is  afraid  of  man,  and  never,  until  you  teach  him  that  you 
do  not  intend  to  hurt  him,  will  that  fear  cease — we  mean  that  wild,  natural  fear 
— for  you  must  have  him  fear  you  as  well  as  love  you,  before  you  can  absorb  his 
attention  as  much  as  is  necessary  to  break  him  to  your  liking.  It  is  a  principle 
in  the  nature  of  a  horse  not  to  offer  resistance  to  our  wishes,  if  made  known  in 
a  way  that  he  understands,  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  his  nature. 

In  subjugating  the  horse,  we  must  make  a  powerful  appeal  to  his  intelligence. 
This  can  only  be  done  by  a  physical  operation.  It  is  an  undisputed  fact  that 
the  battles  of  all  animals  (except  such  as  are  garnished  with  horns)  are  fought 
by  seizing  each  other  by  the  throat.  A  dog  that  has  been  thus  held  by  his  an- 
tagonist for  a  few  minutes,  on  being  released,  is  often  so  thoroughly  cowed  that 
no  human  artifice  can  induce  him  to  again  resume  the  unequal  contest.  This 
is  the  principle  upon  which  horac-taming  is  founded. 

2.  PRACTICAL  EULES. 

1.  C7toking—  First  Method.— Choking  a  horse  is  the  first  process  in  taming, 
and  is  but  the  beginning  of  his  education.  By  its  operation  a  horse  becomes 
docile,  and  will  thereafter  receive  any  instruction  which  he  can  be  made  to  un- 
derstand. Teaching  the  animal  to  lie  down  at  our  bidding,  tends  to  keep  him 
permanently  cured,  as  it  is  a  perpetual  reminder  of  his  subdued  condition. 

It  requires  a  good  deal  of  practice  to  tame  a  h  rse  successfully  ;  also  a  nice 


162 


ATTENDIX. 


judgment  to  know  when  he  is  choked  sufficient'y,  as  there  is  a  bare  possibility 
that  he  might  get  more  than  would  be  good  for  him.  We  advise  persons  not 
perfectly  familiar  with  a  horse  to  resort  rather  to  the  strapping  and  throw  ing- 
down  process  (unless  he  is  very  vicious)  described  below ;  this,  in  ordinary- 
cases,  will  prove  successful.  It  is  the  fault  of  most  people  who  have  owned  a 
horse  to  imagine  that  they  are  expert  in  his  management;  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, many  professional  horsemen  are  the  very  worst  parties  to  attempt  a  sub- 
jugation. Unless  a  man  have  a  good  disposition,  he  need  not  attempt  horse- 
taming. 

In  practicing  the  method  exhibited  in  fig.  55*  retire  with  the  animal  to  be 
operated  upon  into  a  close  stable,  with  plenty  of  litter  upon  the  floor  (tan-bark 


Fig.  55. 


or  sawdust  is  preferable).  In 
the  first  place  fasten  up  the  left 
fore-leg  with  the  arm  strap,  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  will  be 
permanently  secured.  Then 
take  a  broad  strap  and  buckle, 
and  pass  it  around  the  neck 
just  back  of  the  jaw-bone. 
Draw  the  strap  as  tight  as 
possible,  so  tight  as  to  almost 
arrest  the  horse's  breathing. 
The  strap  must  not  be  buck- 
led, but  held  in  this  position 
to  prevent  slipping  back.  The 
animal  will  struggle  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  he  will  become 
perfectly  quiet,  overpowered 
by  a  sense  of  suffocation ;  the 
veins  in  his  head  will  swell ;  his  eyes  lose  their  flre  ;  his  knees  totter  and  be- 
come weak  ;  a  slight  vertigo  will  ensue,  and  growing  gradually  exhausted,  by 
backing  him  around  the  stable,  he  will  come  down  on  his  knees,  in  which  po- 
sition it  is  an  easy  matter  to  push  him  on  his  side,  when  his  throat  should  be 
released.  Now  pat  and  rub  him  gently  for  about  twenty  minutes,  when,  in 
most  instances,  he  will  be  subdued.  It  is  only  in  extreme  cases  necessary  to 
repeat  the  operation  of  choking.  The  next  lesson  is  to  teach  him  to  lie  down, 
which  is  described  in  the  account  of  the  fourth  method  of  taming.  No  horse 
can  effectually  resist  the  terrible  effects  of  being  choked. 

It  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind,  that  the  operator  must  not  be  boisterous 
or  violent,  and  that  the  greatest  possible  degree  of  kindness  is  absolutely  es- 
sential. When  the  horse  is  prostrate,  he  should  be  soothed  until  his  eyes  show 
that  he  has  become  perfectly  tranquil. 

2.  Second  Method. — The  plan  described  in  fig.  56  is  very  simple,  though  not 
as  expeditious  as  the  previous  one.  Buckle  or  draw  a  strap  tight  around  the 
neck,  lift  a  fore-leg,  and  fasten  around  it  the  opposite  end  of  the  strap,  the 
shorter  the  better.  In  the  engraving,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  the  strap  is 


APPENDIX. 


163 


represented  too  long.     It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  plan  the  horse  is  made  the 
instrument  by  which  the  punishment  is  inflicted.    "When  he  attempts  to  put 


Fig.  56. 


his  foot  down,  his  head  goes  with  it,  and  he  thus  chokes  himself.    Care  should 
be  taken  that  he  does  not  pitch  on  his  head,  and  thus  endanger  hia  neck. 

3.  Third  Method.— Secure  the  horse  with  a  stout  halter  to  the  manger.    If 
extremely  unruly,  muz- 

zle  him.  Sooth  him 
with  the  hands  for  a 
few  minutes,  until  he 
becomes  somewhat  pa- 
cified. Then  seize  him 
by  the  throat  (as  in  fig. 
57),  close  to  the  jaw- 
bone, with  the  right 
hanf*,  and  by  the  mane 
with  the  left.  Now  forc- 
ibly compress  his  wind- 
pipe until  he  becomes 
so  exhausted  that,  by 
lightly  kicking'  him  on 
the  fore  legs,  he  will  lie 
down,  after  which  he 
should  be  treated  as 
previously  described.  This  process  requires  courage  in  the  operator,  and  also 
great  muscular  strength. 

4.  Fourth  Method.-The  horse  to  be  operated  upon  should  be  led  into  a  close 
stable.    The  operator  should  be  previously  provided  with  a  stout  leather  hal- 
ter ;  a  looped  strap  to  slip  over  the  animal's  knee ;  a  strong  surcingle,  and  a 
long  and  short  strap-the  first  to  fasten  round  the  fore-foot  which  is  at  liberty, 


164:  APPENDIX. 

and  the  second  to  permanently  secure  the  leg  which  is  looped  up.    The  appli- 
cation of  the  straps  will  be  better  understood  by  reference  to  fig.  58. 

In  the  first  place,  if  the  horse  be  a  biter,  muzzle  him;  then  lift  and  bend  his 
left  fore-leg,  and  slip  a  loop  over  it.  The  leg  which  is  looped  up  must  be  secur- 
ed by  applying  the  short  strap,  buckling  it  around  the  pastern  joint  and  fore- 
arm ;  next  put  on  the  surcingle,  and  fasten  the  long  strap  around  the  right  fore- 
foot, and  pass  the  end  through  a  loop  attached  to  the  surcingle ;  after  which 
fasten  on  a  couple  of  thick  leather  knee-pads— these  can  be  put  on  in  the  first 
place  if  convenient.  The  pads  are  necessary,  as  some  horses  in  their  struggles 
come  violently  on  their  knees,  abrading  them  badly.  Now  take  a  short  hold 
of  the  long  strap  with  your  right  hand ;  stand  on  the  left  side  of  the  horse, 
grasp  the  bit  in  your  left  hand ;  while  in  this  position  back  him  gently  about 
the  stable,  until  he  becomes  so  exhausted  as  to  exhibit  a  desire  to  lie  down, 
which  desire  should  be  gratified  with  as  little  violence  as  possible  ;  bear  your 


Fig.  58. 


weight  firmly  against  the  shoulder  of  the  horse,  and  pull  steadily  on  the  strap 
with  your  right  hand  ;  this  will  force  him  to  raise  his  foot,  which  should  be  im- 
mediately pulled  from  under  him.  This  is  the  critical  moment ;  cling  to  the 
horse,  and  after  a  few  struggles  he  will  lie  down.  In  bearing  against  the  ani- 
mal do  not  desist  from  pulling  and  pushing  until  you  have  him  on  his  side. 
Prevent  him  from  attempting  to  rise  by  pulling  his  head  toward  his  shoulder. 
As  soon  as  he  is  done  struggling,  caress  his  face  and  neck  ;  also,  handle  every 
part  of  his  body,  and  render  yourself  as  familiar  as  possible.  After  he  has  lain 
quietly  for  twenty  minutes  let  him  rise,  and  immediately  repeat  the  operation, 
removing  the  straps  as  soon  as  he  is  down  ;  and  if  his  head  is  pulled  toward  his 
shoulder  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  get  up.  After  throwing  him  from  two  to 
five  times  the  animal  will  become  as  submissive  and  abject  as  a  well-trained 
dog,  and  you  need  not  be  afraid  to  indulge  in  any  liberties  with  him.  A  young 
horse  is  subdued  much  quicker  than  an  old  one,  as  his  habits  are  not  confirm- 
ed. An  incorrigible  horse  should  have  two  lessons  a  day ;  about  the  fourth 


APPENDIX.  165 

lesson  lie  will  be  permanently  conquered.  If  the  operation  is  repeated  several 
times,  he  can  be  made  to  lie  down  by  simply  lifting  up  his  fore-leg  and  repeat- 
ing the  words,  "  Lie  down,  sir,"  which  he  must  be  previously  made  familiar 
with. 

5.  Additional  Hints.— The  following  rules  will  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  ama- 
teur operator,  and  should  be  strictly  observed  : 

First.  The  horse  must  not  be  forced  down  by  violence,  but  must  be  tired  out 
till  he  has  a  strong  desire  to  lie  down. 

Second.  He  must  be  kept  quiet  on  the  ground  until  the  expression  of  the  eye 
shows  that  he  is  tranquillized,  which  invariably  takes  place  by  patiently  waiting 
and  gently  patting  the  horse. 

Third.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  throw  the  horse  upon  his  neck  when  bent, 
as  it  may  easily  be  broken. 

Fourth.  In  backing  him,  no  violence  must  be  used,  or  he  may  be  forced  on 
his  haunches,  and  his  back  broken. 

Fifth.  The  halter  and  off-rein  are  held  in  the  left  hand,  so  as  to  keep  the 
head  away  from  the  latter ;  while,  if  the  horse  attempts  to  plunge,  the  halter  is 
drawn  tight,  when,  the  off-leg  being  raised  the  animal  is  brought  on  his  knees, 
and  rendered  powerless  for  offensive  purposes. — New  York  Tribune. 


INDEX. 


Ass,  The  .... 
Apiary 


4,5 
152 


B. 


Buyers,  Hints  to 42 

Barns  and  Sheds 82 

Breeds,  Improvement  of 103 

Breeding  In-and-in 109 

"         Hints  on 112 

Bee-Keeping 148 

Bee-Hive,  Wonders  of 148 

Bees,  Swarming  of 156 

"     General  Management  of 156 

C. 

Cattle,  Breeds  of 49 

"      Devon 51 

"      Hereford 53 

Sussex 54 

Ayrshire 54 

Welsh 55 

Irish 55 

Long  Horn 56 

Short  Horn 56 

Alderney  . . . , 59 

Galloway 59 

Cream-Pot 60 

Points  of 61 

"      General  Management 65 

"      Weight  of  Live 71 

Calves,  Rearing 79 

Crossing  Breeds 110 


Diseases  of  Animals 114 

Duck,  The 143 


Ewe,  Anecdote  of. 


F. 

Feeding  Horses 81 

"       Sheep 84 

"        Cattle 66 

"       Swine 104 

"        Fowls 184 


Fowl,  The  Domestic 118 

"     Spanish 119 

"     Dorking 121 

"     Polish 123 

Hamburg 124 

Dominique 126 

Leghorn 127 

Cochin  China 129 

Bantam 129 

Game 132 

Mongrel 182 

Accommodations  for ........  183 

Feeding 134 

"     The  Guinea 137 

G. 

Guinea  Fowl,  The 137 

Goose,  The 140 

H. 

Horse,  The 9 

Horse,  Breeds  of 10 

"      The  Eacer 11 

"      Arabian 12 

Morgan 14 

Canadian 16 

Norman 16 

Cleveland  Bay 18 

"      Conestoga 18 

"      Clydesdale 19 

"      Virginia 19 

"      Wild 20 

"      American  Trotting 20 

"      Points  of 21 

"      Color  of 26 

"      How  to  Feed 81 

"      General  Management  of ...  85 

"      Vices  and  Habits 88 

"     How  to  Tame 161 

Hives  ...                                         . .  152 


Lambs 


M. 


Mule,  The 46 

"     Trade  in  Kentucky 47 


168 


INDEX. 


p. 

ry 10T 

ry. 118 

Pentalogue 136 

Preparation  of  for  Market ..  916 


8. 

Sheep,  Breeds  of 73 

Native 74 

Spanish  Merino 74 

Saxon        do 76 

New  Leicester 76 

South-Down 78 

Cheviot 80 

Lincoln 81 

Choice  of  Breed 81 

"      General  Management  of ...  82 

"      Value  of  to  the  Farmer 92 

Swine,  Natural  History  of 95 


PAOI 

Swine,  Opinions  respecting 97 

"      Breeds 93 

«      The  Land  Pike 99 

"      Chinese 99 

"      Berkshire 100 

"       Suffolk 101 

«      Essex 102 

Chester 102 

Points  of 1<>4 

Feeding 104 

29 

..  156 


Stables . 
Swarming  .... 


T. 


Turkey 133 

Taming  Horses 161 

W. 
Water-Cure  for  Animals 115 


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